Lillian Hape, child of hogwarts

by darkestraven13

the child of snape and hagrid. I do not own the harry potter universe or any characters created by J.K. Rowling, I just misuse them.

A long time from now, in a place not too far from here…

She sat at a window, watching the autumn leaves fall and swirl. A fire crackled in the fireplace of a dark and gloomy room. It was late afternoon, a perfect day for fall, overcast with clouds threatening the ground with more rain than it could stand. She was elderly, pale with high cheekbones. Her once dark hair was mostly silver now although she never did wrinkle, and looked much too young to be a great grandmother. She picked up a quill and began to write on a very long and blank scroll.

"I have been asked by many friends and colleagues to set the record straight. Was I at the Three Broomsticks on February 30th? No, don't be daft; I was working at the Hog's head that day. Did I cause Filch to be a squib? Of course not, but I am still working on a cure in his honour. Was I a follower of the dark lord known as Voldemort? Almost. Am I the greatest Witch ever? No, don't be foolish. Am I the child of Rubeus Hagrid and Severus Snape? Yes and no. Are you very confused now? Probably. Let me tell you the tale as I have been told and experienced, of how I was made, and then born,"

The Story of Lillian Hape, child of Hogwarts

We begin before I was, this is what I have been told and have been able to confirm...

Chapter 1 Blessings and Boarhounds

Early spring, .

Professor Snape sat at a desk, in a dark office, scribbling out a note. There was a knock at the door.

"Enter" he said, an angry edge to his voice.

In walked a house elf, with an owl on his shoulder, nearly as big as himself. "Professor Snape, here's the owl you requested," the elf responded.

Professor Snape fixes a cold angry look on the elf "Fool! Do you think I am blind? Give it here and be gone with you!" Snape arose from his chair with great strain, leaning heavily on a black and silver cane. He steps out from behind the desk, his right foot in a cast and his left arm bandaged. The elf held his arm as high as he could, the owl squeaks in annoyance for having its balance shifted and then hops to Snapes outstretched arm. The house elf bows low and then quickly dodged a well-aimed kick, which almost caused Professor Snape to fall.

The Professor then hobbled over to the desk, secured the note to the owl's leg, looked the owl in the face and said "Take this to that great oaf, Hagrid," The owl quickly turned and flew from the professor and out the gap in the door. She soared through the tight hallways of the castle's lower depths, up staircases, and out the nearest available window. The sun was bright, the day was beautiful but chilly; it was a spring present with a winter wrapping paper. The hut of Hagrid was a short flight from the castle and should have taken only a few moments, but the owl was having such delight in this day, soaring and gliding, that she stretched it out to half an hour. She decided that if anyone asked, her story was that she got lost; after all, she was still fairly young.

Hagrid sat at his table nursing a cup of tea, thinking about Aragog, wondering how he was doing, had he survived another winter, how many centaurs would be giving birth this year, he suspected at least three, and wondered if they would need any socks, he could knit, they'd be young and needing something to cover their growing hooves after all it still gets pretty cold… when there was a gentle rapping, a slight tapping at his hut's door.

"Hope it's not that bloody crow again" he muttered as he stood. He walked to the door and opened it to find not a crow but an owl gliding gentle circles with a note around its leg. "Is that for me? Well, come in then," Hagrid stepped out of the way as the young owl did one final loop and then swooped her way into his hut, landing on the edge of Hagrid's teacup, which promptly fell over, spilling tea everywhere. The owl's reaction was to immediately lift back up to find a dryer and more stable post to perch upon, while Hagrid rolled his eyes, grabbed the nearest cloth and began to clean up the mess with the exclamation of "Ruddy bird!" "Let me see that note already" the half giant said as he reached for the owl's leg. The owl obediently lifted one leg straight out for easy access to someone of such large crushing hands. The note was removed and lifted close to Hagrid's face "Blimey, what does he want this time?"

Hagrid, as you are aware I am still of limited mobility due to recent events within the forbidden forest, for which you bear responsibility. As such, I require you to bring me the following items which the school is running short on:

14 Griffin feathers

One gram of leprechaun gold

Three wild growing Mandrake roots (Do not attempt to substitute the domestic ones from the green house. I know the difference!)

Five beazors (the last one was… misappropriated, by Madame Pomfrey)

Also, I have heard tale that one of the forest unicorns is passing. I will remind you that the school has been without a steady supply of unicorn blood for study or experimentation for many years and would strongly urge you to obtain a sample, lest there be a formal inquiry from the ministry as to your capability, or culpability.

Prof. S. Snape-

Hagrid, folding the note closed and pocketing it, says aloud, "Oh boy, just when I thought I'd have a peaceful afternoon…"

Soon after Hagrid, with crossbow in hand and several empty sacks tied to his belt, trudged off to the forest. He spent that afternoon and on into the evening obtaining the various items requested by Professor Snape, even getting a litre of unicorn blood, (obtained with the permission of her mate). It was early March and the moon was full, the wind blew at his back. Hagrid kept his eyes out for anything that might try to sneak up on him, or for any students sneaking out of the castle for an adventure into the forest. Hagrid did not need a lantern to see his way to his hut from here. He had all the items and decided to keep the load overnight so as to not have to further deal with Professor Snape, and hopefully get some rest tonight.

He walked slowly and intentionally loud, to scare off anything in his path. Hagrid felt very irritated and lonely. Irritated for having to be Professor Snape's bitch, the man who was until very recently a suspected death eater and one of the darkest wizards he was forced to work with, was it truly Hagrid's fault? He couldn't truly be held liable for the actions of a feral boar hound in heat even if he were assigned to protecting the Professors on their jaunt.

As he remembers, Professor Foop was pointing out some rare and fascinating herb to Madame Pomfrey, when a female boarhound charged out from nowhere and ran face to groin into Professor Snape. Snape fell into a thicket of crush vine, which, true to its name crushed the closest things to it, specifically Snapes right ankle and left wrist. Madame Pomfrey, expert healer that she was, could not do much more than a muggle could, bones and joints crushed with crush vine are also infected with its sap, making the damage curable only with slow healing. Snape immediately blamed the entirety of his injuries on Hagrid and threatened to have him removed not just from the school but from wizarding society as well. Dumbledore's intervention saved Hagrid's job but also doomed him "Rubeus, I ask you as a friend to help Severus. It will placate him" Since then Professor Snape had found any and every opportunity to use and embarrass Hagrid, leaving the man frustrated and without recourse. Hagrid also felt lonely, because the forbidden forest was always so close to heart and home and could come no closer. If he could just have something to love and cuddle, but Dumbledore's answer was always the same, "I'm sorry dear friend, but no," Maybe one day there would be someone, something to share his love and his heart with, maybe.

Hagrid had almost walked right into the front door to his cottage without realizing he was home. He set the sacks down and got ready for bed. He soon turned in, all lights were out and as he lay in bed he could not sleep very well. That man kept coming to his mind, that ruddy Severus Snape, ooh how I'd like to get a hold of him and… the mountain of a man slept at last. While he slept Hagrid's dreams focused on Snape and various acts of pain he would like to commit on the Dark Wizard, some very creative in their use of a mandrake root. He also dreamed of a shadowy dark thing that he couldn't quite place a finger on, something that eluded him, something small, something that he very much wanted. Hagrid slept later than he had wanted and when he awoke the school day had already begun. He quickly dressed, splashing a bit of cold water on his face and grabbed the sacks that held the Professors much needed supplies. He was soon out the door and half way up to the castle when, from Madame Sprout, he heard the sound of another of life's endless distractions.

"Hagrid! Yoo-hoo, Hagrid, dear,"

Oh no, not Madame sprout! If I have to spend another night turning her mulch, as she puts it, it'll be the end of me! Hagrid thought as he turned to face the familiar voice

"Rubeus, darling, would you be so kind as to stop by the Greenhouse tonight, I could really use your big strong arms to help me turn my mulch. I'll fix a delightful dinner for just the two of us and-"

"Oh, err, I suspect I'll be unavailable tonight, you know, gotta help poor Severus out,"

"Oh, that's right" she said, while rolling her eyes "That man really begins to annoy me. You don't think he could be faking it do you?"

"I ruddy well hope not" replied Hagrid, hoping to keep this conversation, and Madame Sprout's amorous indulgences with him, to a minimum.

Hagrid continued on into the castle, soon arriving at the lower corridors. He had the fortune of only being stopped one other time and that was by Professor Flitwick to be informed that he had missed the morning's breakfast and was greatly missed.

Hagrid arrived at the door leading into Professor Snape's laboratory, knocking as softly as possible.

"Enter!" Snape gruffly shouts. As Hagrid passed through the doorway he could see a large cauldron on a fire, with something thick slowly churning away.

"Here's the items that you requested, Professor. I'll be going," Hagrid said with a chipper voice, setting the sacks on the ground and then turning back to the door, glad to be done with this task.

"Just one moment, I will inspect what you brought. You do realize that some of the items have a very short life if they are not preserved?" Severus scowled at Hagrid as he delicately arose from his chair. "Did you bother to tie up the wild mandrake roots so they would neither escape nor eat the leprechaun gold?"

"Erm- well I…,"

"Did you think to separate the griffin feathers and carefully wrap them in fine linen before shoving them roughly into your sack? "

"Um, ah…,"

"Did you even bother to look into the Unicorns blood?"

"Ooh, yes, I did!"

"And did you use a wineskin made from a dragon's wing to prevent contamination?"

"Um, well I didn't exactly…,"

"I do not wish for my time to be wasted! Open the sacks and lay the contents out on that table, neatly,"

Hagrid picked up the sacks and carried them to the table, gingerly opening them and slowly removing each item from a sack, laying them on the table for inspection.

Severus began looking each item over holding them up to a nearby candle for light

"Hagrid, is there a crack in this beazor?"

"That's how it came from the goat," Hagrid replied, looking down at his shoes.

"This Griffin feather is bent and quite useless," Snape said, dropping the feather on the floor as if it were garbage. It glided down and caught a light breeze on into the cauldron.

"You didn't say they all had to be straight," meekly, still inspecting his shoes.

"When I want your input I will ask for it!" Snape glared. He then grabbed the wineskin, opened it and sniffed. "Still good, tie the legs of the mandrakes together and hang them from that shelf" Snape pointed to a bookcase across the room. "While you are over there, grab the copper blade on the third shelf. I will need it for reducing the leprechaun gold into proper proportions,"

"Why copper?" Hagrid muttered, half to himself

"Because it's the only substance that will cut it without dispelling its properties, which you would have learned if you had taken the advanced level of potions instead of playing with spiders. Tell me, Hagrid, has the acromantula ever thanked you for saving its life, or does it simply view you as it saw all students, a convenient meal?"

Hagrid, enraged, grabbed an iron knife roughly, slicing his own hand, but did not notice. "I'll not have you talking about Aragog like that!" Hagrid stomped over to Professor Snape, who was now standing over the large cauldron stirring and shoved the knife; handle first, into Professor Snapes left hand. Severus cried out in pain as the force of the handle was enough to wiggle an already shattered wrist. He briefly lost his grip on the knife, allowing it to jostle about in his hand, cutting him deeply in the palm. Severus then dropped the blade into the cauldron along with the Mandrake root he was holding. The cauldron's contents briefly glowed bright silver, to see it directly would be as if to stare into a flare, and then it exploded.

The explosion was forceful enough to shatter most of the contents of the laboratory, as well as rock the whole castle. The sound could be heard all the way up to the highest tower, startling awake the most senior of the owls "Ruddy humans," thought the owl, before it settled back down to continue its nap. Professor McGonagall was the first on the scene, and what a sight to behold! Everything in the room was covered in black smoking soot, except one thing, which knelt in the circle formerly occupied by the cauldron. Hagrid lay on the ground, smouldering and unconscious but breathing. Snape lay partially embedded into the wall, dust covered and smoking, blood dripping from both hand and mouth, his breathing laboured. Madame Pomfrey was the next on the scene, followed by Madame Hooch. Madame Pomfrey assessed the scene and went to Snape first as he looked the most in peril. Albus Dumbledore arrived on the scene and saw that his people were doing what needed to be done and ignoring that which caught his attention, the small child standing at the centre of where the blast had come from. Albus, fairly good at understanding cause and effect in the magical world, knew exactly what had happened. It was an accidental recreation of a forgotten spell. Albus walked over to the child and knelt down.

"Hello, there. What's your name?"

"I dunno," she said, looking up into his eyes. "Are you my mummy?"

"Oh, no, I suspect that the large man sleeping on the ground will be claiming that title,"

Professor McGonagall came over to Dumbledore, looked at him and then the child and said "Who is she?"

"She is the result of a vitae fulmen,"

"You mean she was…"

"Yes Minerva, Professor Snape and Hagrid have apparently had a child, and with those two, it will be up to us to raise her,"

"But is she a real life or…" Professor McGonagall stammered, unable to take her eyes off this dark haired, pale skinned child.

"That is a question that has been long debated, and I believe will be finally resolved,"

"Shouldn't she look a little younger? If I were to guess I would say that she's around eight,"

"As I understand it, it has to do with the age of the mandrake root used, the older the root the older the creation or child will be. What will be interesting to learn is whether she has any of the knowledge or memories of either Severus or Hagrid and what physical attributes they may have imparted. Come, Minerva, we will need to draft an immediate letter to the ministry regarding this. Expect official arrivals within the hour. We must be very careful, the last confirmed case of this that survived more than a day ended in a burning at the stake for the poor child. It is going to be a very long night," Dumbledore turned toward the doorway.

"But what about them?" Professor McGonagall waved her hand at the rapidly growing group of Professors and some students.

"Oh, yes. Attention, everyone, unless you have official business here please either return to your houses or your respective classrooms. Argus, please clear the room of all non-essentials. Madame Hooch, a word please,"

Madame Hooch walked over to Albus. "I am putting you charge of this situation. Madame Pomfrey will be taking Hagrid and Professor Snape up to the hospital wing within the next few minutes. Please make use of that time and confusion to take the girl to somewhere secluded, make sure she's fed and dressed as soon as possible. I believe you will find a private guest room on the seventh floor, you know how to get in. We need to keep this quiet for now,"

Chapter 2 Daily Drama

As Dumbledore predicted, moving both Snape and Hagrid from Snape's laboratory proved to be quite chaotic, with many students shrieking at the sight of Professor Flitwick levitating Hagrid, fearing that the diminutive Flitwick would not be able to handle such a task. One student even took off running down the hall screaming "HE'S GOING TO DROP HAGRID AND CRUSH US ALL!" Madame Hooch knelt down to eye level with the girl and said "I need you to come with me. We are going to take good care of you, I promise,"

"Okay," was the only response given as she reached for Madame Hooch's hand. Madame Hooch briefly wished she could simply apparate to the seventh floor, but alas, a quick walk would have to do. She stood, the little girl hiding herself under Madame Hooch's long cloak, clinging desperately to the Professor's leg. Madame Hooch walked along the hallway and up the stairs with no one noticing the extra pair of feet sticking out from under the cloak. "Am I going too fast for you dear?" "No. Are you my mummy?" was said, melting the Professors heart.

"No dear, I'm a friend,"

Soon they arrived at the seventh floor. Finding a painting of Barnabas the Barmy's attempt to teach trolls ballet on a wall, Madame Hooch concentrated on finding a private room for the girl and began walking the hallway, going past this spot three times before noticing the doorway. They entered this special room and found a large plush bed already made a dresser full of clothes of the perfect size and all shades and styles, as well as a table with a large tray on it, a large meal waiting for a hungry mouth. The room had an additional doorway that lead into a private bath. Madame Hooch turned to her ward and asked "What do you want first, lunch or a bath?"

"Lunch, please,"

"Okay. Here you go," Madame Hooch picked the child up and sat her on the chair at the table, placing a napkin on the little one's chest. The meal, a hot beef stew with crusty bread was quickly devoured and then, with much giggling, it was bath time. Before climbing into the greatly oversized and over stuffed bed the Girl picked out cloths that looked almost identical to the standard Hogwarts uniform and put them on. She then curled up next to Madame Hooch in the bed, listening to a lullaby and drifting off.

While Madame Hooch was still on the way to this room with the child Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were finishing a letter to be sent to the ministry informing them that two of the staff, two male staff members, had just unwittingly created a small girl, who Hogwarts would be delighted to take care of. The letter outlined the general idea of how this happened, what ingredients were likely to have been used, and to not worry, all was under control. Within a few minutes of this message being sent by owl, several other owls arrived from the Ministry informing the Headmaster to expect ministry officials within the hour.

True to their words, Ministry officials from multiple departments descended upon Hogwarts in less than an hour, finding Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall waiting with tea and polite smiles.

Arriving by broom directly onto the balcony outside Dumbledore's office were representatives from the Departments of Minister for Magic (Alice Hewitt), Improper use of Magic Office (John Darewood), two Representatives from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes (Ester Scott and Harrison Gay), and an Official from the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures Minister (John Bowling).

Minister Hewitt, staring, open mouthed at Dumbledore, "What the hell are your people doing here? Do you have any supervision over your staff- especially this this Snape? He was an accused Death Eater and now you're letting him create life? Have you decided to start creating your students now?"

"Indeed Dumbledore, this is most improper, this is a gross dereliction of your duties as Headmaster and, well, this is just unseemly," said Minister Scott

"Where is 'it'? Where is this thing that you've conjured up? Is it properly chained? How many students has it killed? What are its abilities?" asked Minister Bowling

"And where are its creators- This Snape and Hagrid? Why aren't they here where the Aurors can observe them and take care of this? What is going on in this madhouse?" asked Minister Darewood

Dumbledore, smiling, "would you all please, calm down, have a seat, be comfy, and have a spot of tea. I will begin at the beginning, or more precisely, this morning. As you know, Professor Snape, whom I trust with my life, and who has been cleared of all accusations in the alleged association with Voldemort was recently injured and is healing slowly. He often needs assistance in some of the more mundane tasks associated with his research into potions and is being assisted by Hagrid. Apparently there was some sort of accident that allowed the blood of both men to go into a potion that professor Snape was researching, along with other unidentified items. The Professor had apprised me that the potion had to do with the regeneration of injured tissue due to severe magical injury. As his project was very time sensitive I did not press him for details. Until Professor Snape and Hagrid regain consciousness I cannot provide further information as to what exactly happened. What I do know is the resulting blast created life, not an 'it', but a little girl. She is currently being taken care of and being observed. She has not shown herself to be a threat to anyone at this school. As far as I can tell, she's simply a little girl.

"Merlin's beard! This is completely unacceptable! Bring this creature here at once!" spat Scott.

"Agreed, we need ministry inspection of this 'child' as you put it, to see what risk it carries" said Bowling.

"We will not" said McGonagall, softly. "I am pleased to hear you, a ministry official for Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, acknowledge that she is indeed a child and therefore out of your jurisdiction, but until there is an official decision on the citizenship status of this child and her right to continued existence. I believe it is in her best interest to stay where she is," At this Bowling stood up, picked up his chair and threw it across the room, screaming "YOU WILL NOT USE MY WORDS AGAINST ME!" to which Professor McGonagall responded "you're right, your words and actions speak for themselves"

"Bowling, get control or leave immediately, we cannot afford another of your incidents. Scott, Please see to that chair," growled Hewitt "Apologies, Professor, but we are under specific orders- we must bring this child back, with or without your permission"

"I see," Said Dumbledore "You must do what you must do; however, I would like to remind everyone here that I am in charge, and this castle tends to respond well to my suggestions for its own defences. If you wish to bring her in there will be certain set preconditions before you get to see her. First, I would like to accompany her, as a concerned adult and a representative of her parents. Also, at no time may the Ministry make any attempt to try and separate the child from my direct sight or presence. She, lacking any legal protection other than myself is not to be questioned without my presence and will not under any circumstance be arrested. "

"Parents? This being is a magical creation! She has no-"

"Oh but I must disagree. You see, life, being generated in the natural manner, whether with wizard parents or muggle, in a laboratory, or in a cauldron, is a combination of alchemy, conjuration, and charms. Those who act as the creators of said life are parents until they either cannot or will not fulfil such roles. Her parents are currently in the Hospital wing of Hogwarts and are employees of this school. As Headmaster, I must assume the position of their respective representative until such time as they are fit to either represent themselves or remove me from said roll. I am responsible for every life in this school, and if memory serves me, the last time the Ministry got a hold of such a being, it was executed. Now, unless you would like to continue this discussion ad nauseum I can instruct my staff to bring the girl up here, and we can depart. "

While this discussion was taking place, the girl was cuddled up next to Madame Hooch, sleeping soundly. Madame Hooch reminisced over the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren that she has been blessed to comfort. This child had a simple innocence that could instantly melt the most frozen and hardened heart of anyone who glanced on her giant hazel eyes. While she nodded, nearly napping, suddenly a house elf came a tapping, tapping on the chamber door. "Message from Dumbledore, he needs you to bring the girl to his office immediately. " The house elf disappeared leaving no trace of his presence.

Madame Hooch and the girl were quickly walking out the door of the room and down the hallway, heading for the entrance to Dumbledore's office. They moved quickly and quietly, not a suspicion or second glance came toward either. They reached the protective Gargoyles, where Madame Hooch gave the password of 'jelly beans'. The Gargoyles sprang to life and aside and the pair of ladies walked through. They found the door to Dumbledore's office ajar and came right in.

"Madame Hooch, how is our guest doing?" Asked Dumbledore.

"I dare say she could use a bit more sleep but she's doing quite well," Madame Hooch replied with a grin.

"Has she said anything?"

"She has asked repeatedly as to the whereabouts of her parents,"

At that moment a house elf came running in "Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape and Keeper of the Keys Hagrid have awakened"

"Oh, ha-ha, always further complications. Madame Hewitt and respective Ministers for Magic, I believe these two men should have the opportunity to see their child and possibly name her, before we go, if you don't mind," At this Scott and Bowling, who had been attempting unsuccessfully to repair the chair jumped to their feet, wands out, ready for a fight, Darewood and Gay patiently looked to their leader for direction. "Dumbledore, I believe my colleges would like to get this show on the road, as they say. Can we dispense with such 'pleasantries', for now?"

"May I remind you, Alice, that one of your fellow ministers bestowed upon me the "pleasantry" of smashing a priceless, antique chair; one that cannot be repaired or replaced through magic. I suspect that the cost of said chair will be coming out of your personal salary for a while if I should mention its destruction and the circumstances. Please, do me and this child this one further favour,"

Alice Hewitt, rolling her eyes, consented. Dumbledore and McGonagall lead the procession, with Madame Hooch and the child next, and then the Ministry Representatives, walking down the staircase and to the Hospital wing. There were quite a few students milling about in the hallway, watching this procession with confusion. One student, red haired Gryffindor started using his wand to conduct a magical marching band, giving the procession a tune to march to. They entered the Hospital ward, walking into a private area for teachers where Snape and Hagrid sat, and had been asking each other if anything was remembered. The answer was a resounding no, except for the bright flash.

"Gentlemen, I regret that I must rush this, but due to the 'accident' earlier today, this girl was born. She is a combination of you two gentlemen and is very eager to meet her parents. I am eager to hear the name that you two choose, cooperatively, for her. The Ministry is very eager to probe, prod and judge this young innocent.

"Oh please" chided Bowling.

"We could name her after my mum, how bout that, Severus?" Hagrid said.

"You have a mother? " Heckled Snape.

"Course I got a mum, her names is-err, no, maybe that wouldn't work so well for a delicate little flower," said Hagrid, sheepishly

"Delicate little flower…" said Snape, vacantly. "Hagrid, do me the honour of letting me name this child Lillian, after… a special friend and you will be free from any future services," Snape said, with a dreamlike voice.

"All right there Professor, you have a deal. And what of a surname, we could do that trendy hyphenating thing. I don't suppose you'll be em, insisting on joint custody, will you? With all due respect Professor, I have a hard time seeing us on family vacations together,"

This thought silenced the entirety of the floor, including the classes in session at the opposite end of the hall. Snape, mortified look on his face turned to look at Dumbledore "I am not ready to be a parent. Dumbledore, will you take care of her?"

"Yes, dear friend. I believe the whole school will care for her, and when you are ready, she will be here" Dumbledore stated.

"That has yet to be determined, Professor" chided Mr. Bowling.

"Are you my daddy?" The little girl said, looking to Severus, who said nothing, lost in memories.

Hagrid, sat up, smiling widely and sobbing, unable to take his eyes off her "Come here dear Lillian, come to your mummy!" the giant man threw open his arms as the child rushed towards him, giggling. Madame Pomfrey, witnessing this, worried for a moment that the girl would be crushed in his hug or possibly lost in his beard.

"I do regret to break up this family reunion, but the ministry will be expecting us to arrive soon, with the girl, Dumbledore," Alice Hewitt said, heart melting at the scene she was witnessing.

"What? You can't take her!? She's, she's, not yours!" shouted Hagrid.

Dumbledore, placing a hand on Hagrid's shoulder, said "It will be all right, dear friend. I give you my word, nothing will happen to her. The ministry feels the need to look her over, when they do they will see she is simply a girl with a strange birth, and we will return. I promise,"

Chapter 3 Confirmation

Soon they were off, Ministry Representatives flying by broom to the border of the school before apparating, Dumbledore, Hooch and Lillian apparating as a group directly from Dumbledore's office. Upon arrival they were met and questioned again by the Head of the Ministry, who stated that the child would be under watch from now on, for public safety. For the next three days the Ministry probed, prodded, inspected and questioned Lillian, with Dumbledore and Hooch at her side. Officials interviewed Severus and Rubeus separately on several occasions, checking, double checking, and cross referencing their stories as to what happened.

In the end, the child Lillian surname and middle name to be determined was deemed a normal human child, but not a muggle. A legal age of nine years old was assigned to her as she had already demonstrated strong growth spurts growing six inches since her birth and would be physically capable of entering any Magic school within two years' time. As such, she would neither be executed as a dangerous creature nor be imprisoned, although the Ministry did say that they would keep an active interest in her developments. She seemed highly intelligent with a bit of clumsiness and a slightly dodgy short term memory. She was shown to have the knowledge of fairly advanced potions and herbology, but needed to be shown the difference between a cauldron and a chair, repeatedly. She displayed an impressive vocabulary and a lack of context, she knew most of what was written in the texts used at Hogwarts, but had to be shown what a book looked like and how to use one. She also seemed to have a slight problem with short term memory- she could recite verbatim the introduction to 'Hogwarts, A History' but got confused when asked if she remembered having breakfast. She hand a very twitchy messy handwriting that was difficult for anyone to read. She also had the habit of knocking over furniture, especially anything with stacks of paper; she considered chairs to be her biggest enemy.

After the three days they returned to Hogwarts, with Madame Hooch being given the responsibility of her daily routine. A private room was set up in an unused classroom near the entrance to the Ravenclaw house. She soon learned her way around the school although it was decided that she, being both a small child and not yet a student she should always have a staff member accompany her. She did fairly well at taking care of herself, and learned all the basics of life that she could, though remembering to put on clothes was often lost on her, at least for the first year of her life. She was visited by several Professors every day when they had a free hour for her education, and within a year was intimidating in both intellect and aptitude.

Chapter 4 Daily Life

Lillian had always seemed as if she would be a highly intelligent student, but for a few days there was a great deal of wonder if she were a squib. This question was resolved at six days after her birth she showed her ability to perform levicorpus without wand, words, or fear. This was the first but not the last demonstration of her talents.

Often, at the end of her daily lessons from the Professors she would ask them if she could demonstrate something she remembered, and the Professor normally said yes, with a slight tremble in the pit of their stomachs. One time she demonstrated her knowledge of transfigurations to Madame Hooch by transforming her desk into a canary, then a balloon, and then back to a desk, again without a wand. She had shown Flitwick her potions skill by correctly reciting 50 different formulas from memory and brewing ten of them chosen randomly by the Professor, although he did need to remind her which ten he had requested. Her father Professor Snape quizzed her on her knowledge of the dark arts and proper defences, admitting to be quite impressed; it was the proudest moment of her young life.

The staff at Hogwarts regularly told Hagrid and Snape of the developments in her education, along with lists of furniture she had damaged or destroyed that week. This information was also forwarded to the ministry, which kept a secret file about her open.

She would visit Hagrid's hut on a weekly basis, who tried his best to spoil the child. She had developed a great love for all living things and a respect for nature. She helped him take care of a boarhound who was delivering her first litter. Once they were weaned all the pups wandered off with their mum, except for one, who had fallen for Hagrid. In contrast, her dear father Severus normally managed to be busy when she called, the few times he wasn't the visits were very short, with Lillian being practically thrown out by Professor Snape.

As time passed she grew normally, making friends of the staff and the House elves. She enjoyed the company of Miss Norris, Filch's cat, and grew to see Filch himself as a friend. She would occasionally help Filch in reporting to him what she overheard students saying or doing, not out of malice against students but because she liked to be helpful to Filch, who was always kind to her.

One morning, before breakfast, the day before she celebrated turning ten years old, there was a knock at her door. Waiting outside was Albus Dumbledore. She was in the middle of brushing her hair, one of her favourite routines of the day. When she heard the knock she immediately knew it was Dumbledore, mostly from the rhythm and force of the knock. She answered the door with hairbrush still dangling from her hair. He was there to inform her that her parents, Severus and Rubeus, had agreed shortly after her birth that she should attend Hogwarts and had begun setting aside their own personal pay for an educational fund. Also, it was decided by the Professors that she would be admitted early, in the fall of that year. He handed her an official letter of acceptance to Hogwarts. Dumbledore went on to say that she would remain here at the school until this summer, at which time she would be asked to leave until the fall term began. Arrangements had been made for her to stay with Aberforth, Dumbledore's brother until the school year started, if she so desired. Also, for the sake of record keeping, The Ministry was asking for a surname to be decided upon as soon as possible.

"So, I get to choose my surname?" asked Lillian, while she brushed her hair.

"Yes, this is a privilege that very few are allowed. You may also choose a middle name if you wish" responded Dumbledore.

"Okay, I have thought about the surname issue, and I want to combine the surnames of my parents. I take the first two letters of Hagrid, and the last two of Snape, thus I am Lillian Hape. For a middle name, I like Sarah. I don't like the idea of leaving Hogwarts. Is Aberforth the gentleman that always smells like goats?" asked Lillian.

"Yes, Aberforth does have a bit of an odour, but living with him will give you some real life experience. I like the reasoning you show in the selection of your name, is there any reason for that particular order?"

"I don't like the way Snid sounds,"

"Agreed," Chuckled Dumbledore.

Chapter 5 cut the cord

Lillian's life went on, though with each passing day she seemed more sad and lonely. She spent more and more time with Hagrid, who would occasionally take her on picnics into the Forbidden Forest. On the day before the last day of the term, they were in the forbidden forest and one of the forests unicorns came up to her, nuzzling her forehead gently. "Mummy, the Unicorn drooled on me!" came from her as the stallion wandered off. "That's okay sweetheart, I'll wipe it off, " said Hagrid, as he stood up and fished in his pockets for a clean rag. He found one and came over, gently wiping off the unicorn drool.

"Mummy, you know I have to leave in a few days for the summer. I have to go live in the village till the fall term begins," Hagrid, on the verge of tearing up, "yeah, I know. I will come down to visit you everyday. I'll make treacle for you everyday and-" "No, you really don't have to do that, and I think it might be better if you only visited about once a week. I love you, but I need to experience life on my own, and when I come back in the fall I need to come only as a student, not you daughter. I'll still love you and visit on weekends, but outside of that I have to be my own person, I'm sorry," she hugged Hagrid, as he sat there, sobbing until nearly sunset. They walked back to the castle, Filch meeting them at the door.

"Sorry Argus, we lost track of time and you know…" Hagrid said, doing his best to not whimper.

"Have you been crying Hagrid?" said filch, holding a lantern a little higher for a better view.

"No, just something in me eye. Would you do me the honour of escorting my little girl back to her room?" asked Hagrid, wiping his face.

"Of course I will, always happy to escort a lovely lady" beamed Argus.

The door to the castle closed and Hagrid headed back to his hut, fully intending to drain at least two good sized bottles of single malt. He reminisced about the last two years, how this wonderful, brilliant child came into his life, swept him off his feet, and was now the most mature child he had ever met.

While Hagrid was walking back to his home, Lillian turned to Filch, a smile on her face, and asked "Do you know when Professor Snape has a free period in which he would at least briefly stop by his office? I need to drop in on him for just a few moments,"

Filch had been told by Snape specifically not to give his schedule out to Lillian, but the old man couldn't resist the sweet smile of the child "Oh, em, I think I know when he'll be in his office, but if I tell you, you must promise not to mention it to him, please. Are you wanting to give him a present or somethin?"

"Yes, something like that. I do promise not to reveal my source, dear friend," She said, smiling.

"I believe Professor Snape stops by his office shortly after his second class of the morning," Argus said, knowing that she'd keep her word. If only the students were more like her…

The next day, she headed down to Professor Snape's office shortly before the end of the second period. She surveyed the area, and chose a corner where she could see him approach his office from the direction of his classroom, but not be seen without intentionally looking for her. She stood motionless, waiting, watching. Second period ended, and she saw Professor Snape exit the classroom and head for his office, he passed her without noticing. She started walking behind him, keeping enough distance to not look as she was following. He entered his office not noticing her directly behind him. She turned when he did, always staying behind him. He reached his desk and then she spoke, "We are talking, and this time you will not be running off," Lillian said with an angry edge to her voice.

"What is the meaning of this?" Snape shouted, his wand rose before looking to see who the intruder was.

"I begin this fall as a student here. As of that moment I expect to be treated as another student, nothing more or less. I will treat you as a Professor, with all the respect and courtesy due to said office. This is the way it will be until my graduation or expulsion. I still love you, father," She said, as she turned and walked to the doorway.

"Lillian, please -" beckoned Severus.

"No, this is how it must be. While class is going on we will be student and teacher only, and not family," Professor Snape's jaw dropped, he put one hand to his face and gently wept, as she walked away, oblivious to his pain.

Chapter 6 off with the hogs head

The next morning was a day of packing, for both her and for the students of Hogwarts. She woke up slightly before dawn, normal for her, and could sense something outside her door. She opened the door to find that the entire population of house elves had showed up with enough boxes, crates, packing supplies, and farewell cards to move the entire school and make it feel well loved. She was very well liked by them as she was very polite and tidy, if a bit clumsy and unintentionally destructive. All of her possessions, which had been donated by staff members, filled two milk crate sized boxes, and could be carried by Lillian herself in one trip.

After breakfast, when most of the students were actively packing she went to the front door, to find a carriage waiting for her, along with Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Madame Hooch, Professor Snape and Hagrid. They had come to wish her a wonderful summer, and hugged each Professor before they had to go in and help the students. Dumbledore, Snape, and Hagrid lingered after the hugs, with Snape giving her a wrapped package, about the size of a shoebox, before wishing her a good time and kissing her on the forehead, the most affection he had shown for anyone in years. He turned and walked away and Lillian could have sworn she heard him crying. Hagrid gave her a bear hug and a box that felt as heavy as her, probably something he baked, she thought.

Dumbledore opened the door to the carriage and beckoned her in, climbing in afterwards. With a simple nod the carriage started moving, with no visible driver and steed attached to it. "Normally I would be visiting the Students to make sure they stayed in good spirits during the packing, but I thought that since you would be staying the summer with my brother I would take you there personally for a formal and proper introduction" said Dumbledore. "Okay" was the only response Lillian gave, not being one for long conversations. She admired the scenery as they drove on, this being the first time she had ridden in a carriage or been outside to do anything other than go to Hagrid's hut or the forbidden forest. Dumbledore began speaking as they approached the village "Aberforth will ask that you help around the Hog's Head, his bar, in exchange for your room and board. What he asks of you will most likely be simple cleaning. Remember that any work you do must be strictly physical effort, and not magic, as you are still under age and are not currently enrolled in Hogwarts or any other school. I believe that your parents will be giving a weekly allowance, which you are free to spend in the village. If at some point Aberforth does not feel you are working adequately he may charge you for room and board. If you break anything, he may charge you a replacement fee. I do have faith in my brother, but if at some point you feel mistreated, contact me immediately. Do you have any questions?"

"No sir. I am glad that you brought me, I enjoy being around you," As she finished, the carriage stopped in front of the Hog's Head.

Aberforth was standing next to the doorway, waiting. Dumbledore opened the door to the carriage and stepped out, Lillian followed. "Hello dear brother, it has been a long time. Aberforth, this is Lillian, Lillian, this is my brother, Aberforth," Aberforth looked at his brother and said "Really? I thought she was me and you were me, and we were three, count me surprised! Are you sure that I'm not the carriage?" snickered Aberforth. Dumbledore ignored his brother's comments, turned to Lillian and said "This is where I must leave you. Take care of yourself, enjoy the summer and most of all, and be a child before it's too late," Lillian wanted to giggle, but felt that it would be inappropriate. Dumbledore turned toward the carriage and wiggled an index finger, causing Lillian's two boxes and present to jump from the carriage and land carefully at her side. He then stepped into the carriage, and it rolled off, making a U-turn to head back to the castle.

"Right, follow me," said Aberforth

"At the top of the stairs, turn left, there will be two rooms, you room is on the left, the one on the right is mine, stay out of there. The room between the two is a water closet; don't tell any of the customers. Tomorrow I will start teaching you what you need to know about how to run a bar. This won't be easy; the bar is actually very clean, I just make it look filthy as ambience; helps attract a certain type of clientèle. "Aberforth said with a smirk.

"You're referring to dark wizards and those that service the darker side of magic?" Lillian stated, following Aberforth up the stairs.

"Yes. Has my brother been preaching the gospel of light and happy fluffy bunny magic?" Aberforth queried.

"No, I just like to make sure I understand," Lillian said,

"Is that going to be a problem for you little girle? I have quite a few regulars who 'service the darker side' as you put it, and I'm not planning on losing them any time soon. I believe there is an available room at the three broomsticks if that's more your taste…" Aberforth said with a growl.

Lillian was feeling a little flustered, but it didn't show. She calmly said "No, this is where I plan on staying for the summer. I will not bother your customers and will do my best to follow your directions," she then opened the door to her room, placed her boxes on the floor next to the bed and turned to close the door. Before she could close it, Aberforth smiled and held out a key to her, saying "This is your room key. Keep your door locked. Most of my customers don't know there even are stairs but I prefer being safe to being robbed or worse. Get settled in, tomorrow starts at a quarter till six for you and it'll be a long day,"

Lillian unpacked and put everything she had away neatly. She was very grateful to Aberforth for giving her a place to stay for the summer and still pondering what Albus could have meant by 'be a child'. This made no sense, everyone she had spoken to in her short life recommended against childish behaviour, why would Albus recommend it? Perhaps the answer would reveal itself at some point in the future.

She sat on the bed and looked at the presents given to her by her parents. First she examined the wrapped package from her father. It was wrapped in a dark paper with dark swirls of blue, green, and purple, that kept swirling, it was like an oily sea with an unknown monster swimming just below the surface. The wrapping was very precise and clean, almost professionally done. She enjoyed the deliberate caution with which it was wrapped and was happy just to sit for about an hour examining the crisp, clean lines of the wrapping and the flowing swirl of the papers undulating pattern. She carefully opened it, making sure to not tear the paper, and found three items, a quill, a bottle of ink, and a journal. There was a note tucked into the diary that said Dear Lillian, I hope you use this journal to capture the essence of the summer and perhaps your years at Hogwarts. It is magically sealed from prying eyes and unwanted attention. Your Father, Severus. She smiled, feeling a bitter-sweet love for the father she had, wishing that he was more expressive on a daily basis, confident that he could keep the secret of their relationship when she began classes, and happy that he would give such a unique and very him gift.

Lillian next turned her attention to the box given by Hagrid. It was a plain white hat box, slightly crumpled at the edges. It was tied with a very small thin rope that had been knotted several times. After untying she opened the box to find not a cake or pie or any other baked item, but a disassembled crossbow, custom made for someone of her size. It was very well made, aged oak for the stock, a bow that was a composite of wood, horn, sinew, and tendon, an iron trigger, tooled leather sheath for the quiver of bolts. There were eight iron tipped bolts, three silver tipped bolts, and two that were of an unknown metal with wax on them, that felt as if they had some magical property. A note was at the bottom of the box, the note was crudely written letter that included a step by step diagram showing how to assemble the crossbow and giving instructions on proper care and maintenance. The letter simply read as follows: "Dear Lillian eye canot bear the thout of yoo living witout some sorter protection, plese use this if yoo need to. The sheeth has ate iron bolts, tree silver whichull take care of any ware beastiest, and to bolts desind by professors Dumbledore and Poof to disspell anything magic. The wax is to protect them from breking down," Lillian sat on the bed smiling. Hagrid had faith in her to protect herself, trusting her to know when to use a deadly weapon, trusting her to be independent. Having watched Hagrid with his cross bow she knew instinctively how to assemble it, string it and load it, and proceeded to assemble and string the device. She could tell by the feel of the trigger that it would fire with very little pressure and the string felt like it came from an exotic creature, it was very light and would pull into a cocked position with little effort but the tension suggested an explosive release, she suspected dragon wing tendon for the string. This device was built for a smaller person to load and fire with little time or effort, and would be a joy to fire if she found the right place and time. Lillian thought to herself I will work hard for Aberforth, and build my mundane abilities, but I will also have fun this summer. With that she put away all her possessions, undressed and folded her old clothes, she would need to ask Aberforth as to how to go about cleaning them without the use of house elf, climbed into the bed, and laid in the bed, facing the full moon. She fell asleep under the silver light and dreamed of baked beans.

Chapter 7 the joys of labour

Lillian awoke before the sun, before the majority of the village, before Aberforth and dressed. She remembered to pocket her room key before locking the door and stepping out into the hallway. She walked downstairs and pulled a chair down off of a table to sit and wait for Aberforth. Ten minutes past before he came downstairs looking dishevelled, stopping on the stairs with a shocked look on his face to see her sitting neatly at a table, looking perky and expectant. "Good morning Aberforth, I am eager to learn. What would you like me to do first?"

"First? First get rid of that smile, no smiles before the rooster crows unless you're into some sort of mischief. Other than that go out back and start hauling in firewood. After the firewood there's breakfast to be made and last night's dishes to wash. Then we start making lunch and redistributing the day's filth. Expect to start getting customers after that. Bring the wood over to the fireplace so I can start tea. I'll join in after I've had a cup. "

Lillian hopped up and scurried out the door to the woodpile in back of the pub, nearly tripping over a sleeping regular. She gathered as much wood as she could, but with short arms she carried less than she had wanted. Hopping over the sleeping regular this time she took the wood in, putting it near the fireplace and turning around to head out for another load. By the time she had returned with her third load of wood Aberforth was finishing his tea, and had set out a second cup. "You're welcome to have a cup. It's probably not good for someone still growing, but it'll put hair on your chest before burning it off. Lillian poured herself a cup with some difficulty; the tea while hot had the consistency of cold molasses. As she raised the cup to her lips a wry smile formed on the lips of Aberforth, the steam emanating from the cup had a pungent aura of dark laughter, ecstasy, and madness. The kick of the tea caused every hair on her body to stand on end, her eyes dilated and her body to begin levitating unintentionally. Lillian had discovered the joy of magically enhanced caffeine, the one recipe created and enjoyed almost exclusively by satyrs and forest nymphs, Goblins tea.

From that point on most of the day was a blur until much later, the wood was hauled, the dishes cleaned, the bar was cleansed, which involved Aberforth magically lifting all the dust and concentrating it into a black ball that clung to the ceiling like an evil egg while Lillian scrubbed up all the splotches, spills and debris, carefully avoiding the soaked in stains of blood, whiskey, and wine. Once the bar was spotless Aberforth cast a bubble over his self and Lillian before making the concentrated filth ball, or F-bomb as they liked to call it, drop to navel level, explode, naturally distribute, and then settle.

Customers came, drank and paid, talked quietly with hands under the table, and left. Occasionally food was ordered and even eaten. Lillian was a polite and cordial waitress to all the customers, with only one bad incident. A man, bald, short and stocky, smiled a toothless and malevolent grin at Lillian, rubbed a finger on her cheek, and shouted to Aberforth "How much for this one?" The hushed conversations died down to less than silence, if sound could have a negative value, this would be it. Aberforth hopped over the bar, jerked the man out of his chair and slammed him into his fist, before slamming a knee into the man's chest. The man was hurled out of the tavern as Aberforth shouted, "Don't you ever come near here or her again! You lay one sodden finger on this girl you'll be forgetting what it was to be having fingers!"

The rest of the day continued at a steady pace, never getting excessively busy with most customers wanting to drink without being bothered. Lillian cleaned in the back, tended to the foods that were kept cooking slowly and in great volume. Aberforth wiped up after a customer left, occasionally asking the regulars if they wanted anything else. Around five in the afternoon the last customer wandered out, Aberforth found Lillian washing mugs and told her to take a break, she had earned it. He gave her a small bag of coins, told her it was the tips she had earned so far, to go have fun exploring the town, and be back by eight. She sprang out the door with a smile wide enough to swallow an eagle in flight.

Lillian wandered past the various shops looking in the windows, deciding where to spend her hard earned money. Being very young and wanting to enjoy herself, she headed into Honey dukes without much thought. She was greeted warmly by Ambrosius Flume, the shop owner "Hello my dear, I don't believe I've seen you here before, but I suspect your name is Lillian, correct?"

"Yes sir, how did you know?" she asked.

"Well, I could spin you a tale of magic and mystery, but the truth is that we sell éclairs made by your friends the Hogwarts house elves, and they said you'd be by sooner or later. They asked me to put together an assortment of our specialties for you," With that he lifted a great basket onto the counter filled with several of each item they carried. "I invite you to look around for anything you wish to purchase, and savour the sights and smells of our shop." Lillian spent time investigating every smell and sight around her, chatting with young people that lived in Hogsmeade. She thanked the shop owner and departed with her basket. Her next stop was the shrieking shack, which, was not currently shrieking. Lillian gave it a good half hour, then decided it was not in a shrieking mood, and went back to the Hog's Head. She gained a few friends over the first few days that she would spend much of the summer days with, all of them had parents that worked in Hogsmeade in some form or fashion, all of them helped around the shops that their parents worked in and new the constraints of work for the young. Her best friend was a young man named Jacob, his parents worked at Dervish & Banges repairing badly damaged magical items. Lillian would meet Jacob in the morning near the centre of the village and spend the summer wandering around looking for trouble and sharing a bag of Bertie Bott's every flavour jelly bean.

One day after Jacob had gone home Lillian arrived at the Hogs Head to find a mob of about six people, she slipped in quietly and went up to her room to hide her candy. While in there she admired her crossbow, wondering if there were any vacant fields nearby that she could sneak out and practice in. she went to her window and gazed out over the city, admiring its beauty. She stood by that window and was daydreaming for a while when there was a knock at her door. She turned and faced the door and watched the lock unlock itself, and the door begin to open. Without putting any thought to it she grabbed her crossbow, drew the string and fitted a bolt into it, taking aim at the doorway. Lillian could clearly see a darkly hooded person standing at the threshold, wand raised. "Who are you?" she shouted at the form. The forms only response was to apparate out of where it had been.

Lillian rushed down stairs, crossbow still in hand, and ran to Aberforth to tell him what she had seen. Aberforth looked up in the direction of the rooms, shouted "Bars closed! Everyone out now!" and shooed the patrons, both of them, out. He then placed both index fingers to his temples, closed his eyes, and started muttering to himself. Two minutes later, there was a familiar knock on the front door. Aberforth looked up at the door and started walking towards it. When he opened it his brother stood there, wand raised. "Good evening Aberforth. We are sure it wasn't just a customer who took a wrong turn?"

"Yes Albus, I can count the number of customers and tell where they go when they're in here. This one was an unknown, and smelled darker than what usually come through these parts." Said Aberforth

"Lillian, would you mind if I go into your room?" asked Albus.

"You're welcome in my room" was her response. The brothers and Lillian went up the stairs, looked in Lillian's room.

"Lillian, where were you standing when you first heard the door opening?" he asked.

"Right in front of the window," she said. Albus walked over to the spot.

"Here?" said Dumbledore, pointing to the location.

"Yes," said Lillian.

"And could you stand exactly where the intruder was?" he asked.

"Yes sir" she said as she marched over to where the intruder was. Albus took a look at her, and then walked over to where she was, inspecting the spot closely. "I have a suspicion as to who it may have been, but nothing definitive; as such I will refrain from any accusations. I have a few friends who I'm sure would be willing to stand guard for the night, if that would make you feel better Lillian," Albus said.

"I would like that, yes please" she said.

Within a few minutes, a tall bald black man with a single gold hoop earring arrived, his name was Kingsley. He was very quiet. He placed a chair outside Lillian's door, and asked her to call out to him if she needed any help. Daily life continued normally, with Lillian working during the days and part of the night. Aberforth showed her how to wash her clothes in a water basin the muggle way, and then showed her how to do it the magical way. She would spend breaks wandering about the village with Kingsley following at a discreet distance.

On a particularly slow day, Aberforth decided to close shop early, asked Lillian to follow him and bring her crossbow. They arrived in a vacant field, Lillian discovered several human shaped stacks of hay that were moving about, under the direction of Kingsley's wand. Aberforth and Kingsley took turns directing the hay-men to rush at her, while the other would give her suggestions in combating them. From this point on about once a week either Aberforth or Kingsley would take her out to the field for practice. She became very proficient at hitting moving targets, targets at distance, targets above her as well as below her. She learned to dodge, hide and run.

On weekends Hagrid would visit, usually spending only one day there. He would bring her a plate of cookies and a book, usually off the required textbooks list for Hogwarts. When the bar was slow and all chores had been accomplished she would often spend time reading or writing in her journal. Lillian spent her summer like this, working in the days and wandering the town in the early nights, with occasional weapons practice and study. There were no further sightings of the man in black that summer.

She spent some time each day gathering local flowers and herbs, and used them to brew tea that Aberforth allowed her to sell. It was a light pale yellow colour and became one of the most popular items at the Hog's Head. It would make the lonely content, put a smile on the face of the sad and grieving, cure hangovers, calm hostile tongues, and make the most miserable sod into a happy mage. There was a man named Darryl who had started coming to the Hog's Head, who was often very sad and weeping. He had married a woman shortly after graduating from Hogwarts but their marriage did not last long. He had a hard time finding gainful employment plus she was a muggle who only knew of the wizarding world through her brother, who attended Hogwarts. Darryl spent a little too much time and money drinking. Lillian would occasionally brew up a cup of her tea just for him, and spent hours talking to him, trying to raise his spirits. They became friends and Lillian developed a crush on him. She knew that nothing could ever come of this; the difference in their age was far too great to be acceptable, even in the non-conformist society of the wizarding world. One night in the Hog's Head there was a crowd of eight people, some of which were grumbling over a new legal ruling by the Ministry that further restricting the harming of muggles for sport. Despite several rounds of Lillian's tea the night ended in a bar room brawl between the muggle hating wizards and those that had muggle family or friends. Darryl, who had been married to a muggle woman, was killed in the brawl with an Avada Kedavra curse right in front of Lillian. Aurors descended upon the Hogs Head to examine the scene and arrest the killer, a former death eater who had been on the run and was on a list of wanted men. Lillian couldn't bear to brew her tea any more after this incident and Aberforth helped negotiate a deal for the recipe to be sold to The Three Broomsticks as the Essence of Summer tea. Honey dukes created a confection named the Lillian that included a few drops of this tea, which has become one of their most popular items, these financial dealings granted Lillian sufficient funds that she would have no issue with expenses at Hogwarts.

The summer's end was within view; it was about a week till the beginning of the school year. An owl flew down to the Hog's Head with a letter addressed to Lillian. It outlined a plan for her to go to London two days before the first day of school, in order to buy all the magical supplies she would need for her upcoming year at Hogwarts before boarding the train with the rest of the students at King's Cross. She would be able to spend a night with both parents in Northern London.

The next four days went by much more slowly than normal. The normal crowd tended to disappear around this time, fearing the explosion in population the town would soon experience. On the day of her trip she packed all her worldly possessions quickly and hauled them to the entrance. She wore a black cotton blouse and black pin striped slacks. Aberforth came downstairs "Lillian, I've enjoyed this summer. You're a decent waitress and would make a good bartender. If things don't work out up at the castle with me snooty brother you'll always be welcome here. Don't tell anyone I said that, it might ruin me reputation. I do have two things I'd like to give you," Aberforth went behind the bar and took out a small hat box and a steamer trunk, putting them down in front of Lillian. She opened the hat box and found to her surprise a hat. It looked like a top hat but made proportionately for a goblin. It was black with a veil attached to its brim that could be pulled down to cover the head. It had two long iridescent feathers coming off one side pointing back, one just slightly smaller than the other. "It don't have any magical properties if that's what you're wondering, it's just a hat, cause all ladies should have a funny looking hat at some point in their lives. Your escort is here, put it on," She did so and true to his word, there was nothing special about the hat. "The trunk is used to be mine, I don't need it anymore and thought you could use it, so put all yer stuff in it and get out!" She quickly put her bags in the trunk before shutting it. Aberforth then jerked open the door grabbed her trunk and chucked it out the front door, right into the waiting arms of Hagrid. Lillian stepped out of the door "Aberforth leaned out and shouted to Hagrid "Tell my dear brother that no whelplings allowed!" and then he slammed the door behind her. Hagrid looked to her and said "What's his problem? Do you need me to sort im out?"

"No mum, he's just being himself," She replied.

Chapter 8 the back to school special

"Yer father is securing transport for us. You believe them daft ninnies at the ministry are refusing to let you take the floo network? They didn't like the port key idear either. We need special permission to apparate you from here to London and he's in front ah some big council right now" a moment later Severus Snape apparated right behind Hagrid, he was dressed in a suit and tie, his hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. He looked like either a talent agent or a lawyer. Hagrid was dressed in Khaki trousers and a sweater vest that had to have been designed for a golfer.

"We've been approved, but they will be monitoring the entire affair discreetly, from now until you board the train. Now, of the three of us, I believe I am the only one to be in possession of an intact wand and have passed the appropriate tests for conducting an apparation, therefore I will serve as the master of these ceremonies" Severus said.

"Oh la de dah" muttered Hagrid.

"Some of us would prefer to arrive fully intact" said Snape.

"What's that supposed to mean? Don't you start nothing you can't finish you-" said Hagrid.

"Mummy! Daddy! Why must you fight every time we're all together? Can we not have one weekend of peace?" shouted Lillian.

Hagrid sighed and Snape looked at his shoes, both men grudgingly looked to each other. "Sorry Lillian" said Hagrid "I promise to not shout at yer daddy".

"And I promise to not antagonize your 'mother', Lillian. Now, Hagrid, if you'll take Lillian's hand, I'll take the other and we can be off," Said Professor Snape

"No. I want you and mummy to hold hands during the process, as a sign of trust and respect," said Lillian.

"You want what?" snarled Snape.

"You heard, daddy!" Lillian said and then stomped one foot to add emphasis.

"You are your mother's child," he replied.

Hagrid and Snape looked at each other eyes gleaming as if about to have a duel, they looked to their daughter, Hagrid rolled his eyes and said "oh all right," and extended one huge hand to Snape, who looked at the massive hand wearily before taking it in his own. Lillian then took Snape's free hand and Hagrid free hand, completing the circle.

"I don't believe either of you have apparated before, you are both aware of the less than pleasant side effects for a first time side along apparation?" Snape asked, smirking at Hagrid.

"I've done this apparation thing before with Dumbledore, I know what yer on about," replied Hagrid.

"I believe you're referring to the frequent vomiting that accompanies this method of travel, father. I ate a light breakfast of toad eye porridge and toast," Lillian said.

"My favourite" said Severus. With that Professor Snape closed his eyes, and the circle of three disappeared with a loud crack.

Lillian had a purely academic understanding of the experience; she didn't realize it would hurt quite so much, she imagined that this is how it would feel if a dragon were born from a mouse - being squished through a hole smaller than the eye.

They appeared in an alley neat the Leaky Cauldron. The plan was to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Muggle world for one night. While Severus despised the notion of intentionally associating with the muggle world Lillian found the possibilities exciting. She had never been outside of the magical areas and wanted to see things like auto mobiles, and elevators and eckeltricity. After weeks of debate they had decided upon a trip to a zoo (in spite of the lack of anything interesting, as Hagrid put it) one restaurant for dinner at Le Maison de Mer, a French gourmet restaurant, and a play at the nearby theatre (Midsummer's Nights Dream), before heading to the Leaky Cauldron for a room for the night.

After depositing Lillian's trunk in her room at the Leaky Cauldron they hailed a taxi. Hagrid and Severus squeezed into the cab while Lillian stood next to the tire listening to the engine idle, trying in vain to imitate the sound.

The cab driver looked to Severus and asked "Is she all right?"

"She's not used to the city," was his reply.

Lillian was so excited that she managed to make herself car sick from rapidly looking around at everything the cab was passing. The trip to the zoo ended faster than expected as Hagrid was kicked out for climbing the barricade around the bear enclosure and trying to wrestle one of the occupants, the zoo keepers did not believe him when he told them he was fluent in bear and that the bear had insulted him mum and challenged Hagrid to a fight.

The French restaurant was their next stop after another cab ride (Lillian did not get sick this time). Severus was very confused by the muggle money and ended paying the cab driver one hundred pounds for a ten mile drive. Lillian loved the restaurant in spite of falling out of her chair twice and spilling soup on herself; she had Bouillabaisse for the first time and decided she loved seafood. Hagrid complained that the portions of food were excessively small and offered to pay Severus when they got back to cast an engorgement charm on his Boeuf Bourguignon. Severus enjoyed the enjoyed calf sweetbreads but complained that the wait staff was far too slow for his tastes. The party left without tipping and was chased out of the restaurant by their waiter who insulted Severus's sexual orientation and fashion sense in five different languages before they got out of earshot.

They hopped a bus to the theatre, Hagrid successfully taking care of the fair this time. The theatre insisted on charging Hagrid for two tickets due to his size. The play was wonderful in Lillian's opinion, although Hagrid was asleep before the end of the second act and Severus by the end of third.

They walked to The Leaky Cauldron after the show. On their way back a mugger jumped out of an alleyway but after getting a good look at Hagrid he dropped his knife (which Lillian picked up) and handed his wallet to Severus before running for his life. Upon entering the Leaky Cauldron there was a big cheer of hooray, several of the professors from Hogwarts had arrived and decided to have a party celebrating the start of the school year. Madame Hooch and Professor Flitwick were there, Madame Sprout and Professor Poof were chatting; Filch and Aberforth were even there. After a few toasts and much laughter Lillian felt sleepy and headed off to bed. She changed into her night shirt and was about to climb into bed when she heard someone speaking to her.

"Don't scream and don't turn around; the master has been watching you. He will have your blood. You are the homunculus, in spite of the ministries cowardice we will learn how you were made and repeat the process. We will make an army of you and dominate-"at that moment the door burst open and Kingsley stepped into the room, wand ready. The intruder, dressed in a floor length robe and a skull mask disappeared as Kingsley fired a stunning spell at him.

"Are you all right Lillian?" he asked.

"Yes, Thank You," she replied.

Severus was the next across the threshold followed closely by Hagrid; Snape's wand raised. "Is everything all right?" Professor Snape asked

"Yes," replied Lillian

"What happened?" asked Hagrid.

"An intruder, I used the technique that Kingsley taught me for calling him without saying a word" replied Lillian

"Ah, an emergency charm, excellent my dear" said Flitwick, who had just appeared in the hallway.

"Lillian, may we take a sample of your memory? It may help us learn who the intruder was," asked Severus.

"With a pensieve?"she asked.

"Yes Lillian" he said.

"Okay, what do I do?" Lillian asked

"Close your eyes, I will place my wand to your temple, a thread of memory will be formed and I will collect it," Lillian did as instructed, Severus placing his wand to her temple, with a silvery gossamer thread appearing where his wand touched her skin. As he pulled his wand away the thread grew longer, Severus took a vial out of a pocket in his pants and placed the wand end of the thread into the vial, the thread releasing from the vial. He scooped the rest of the thread up and sealed the vial with its stopper. Lillian opened her eyes again, looking slightly dazed from the experience; Severus held the vial up for her to see.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked

"Yes, my memory of the intruder," she said

"Good, I wanted to be sure that the spell had only made a copy and not stripped out the memory entirely. That can happen occasionally. I will take this immediately to Dumbledore, I should be back before dawn but if I'm not Hagrid will assist you in obtaining your school supplies," said Snape.

Everyone filed out of her room, Kingsley setting up a chair right out side her door

"Goodnight miss," he said as he closed her door from the outside. Lillian crawled into bed and fell immediately asleep, dreaming of porcupines.

The morning arrived; Lillian awoke and began brushing her hair. She got distracted mid stroke and forgot what she was doing. She took a shower, noticing the brush still in her hair, decided it was happy there and simply washed around it. Lillian got dressed, putting on an ankle length black pleated skirt and a pink blouse that had a fluttering butterfly design that was slowly flapping its wings. She exited her room, Kingsley still sitting in the chair outside, awake and alert as always. She smiled at him

"Sleep well?" he asked

"Always when you're on duty," she said

"Professor Snape has not yet returned, I did get a message from him saying he was delayed and not likely to see you before the sorting ceremony," Kingsley said.

"I expected something to come up, it normally does. Is Hagrid still here?" she asked.

"Unfortunately no, let's take a walk," Kingsley said as he stood up. They started walking downstairs through a deserted leaky cauldron headed to the back door. "He left around one in the morning, apparently there were werewolf sightings near the forbidden forest. I will be escorting you to the train tomorrow morning. As for your shopping today, "Kingsley took a small leather bag out of his robe and handed it to her with a small scroll. "I've been given a message from Professor Snape, he says we have confidence in you to obtain what you need; the bag has enough money to buy what you need plus a little extra, do not go into nocturne alley under any circumstance," Kingsley opened the back door revealing a bricked up alley. He took out his wand and tapped a pattern on the wall, causing the bricks to begin to slide out of position, revealing an arched doorway.

"My advice, outside of avoiding Nocturne Alley, would be to not spend it all on ice cream," he said with a large grin.

"Yes sir" she said, a smile on her lips with heartbreak filling her spirit. She stepped through the arch and onto Diagon Alley.

Chapter 9 frienemies and frogs

She stood for a moment and just gazed down the street towards Gringott's, taking in all of the sights, sounds and smells. There were families strolling about, children running and playing. There were owls hooting, ravens cawing, children laughing and begging for the newest items in store windows. She smelled interesting and repulsive potions being brewed somewhere nearby, with an occasional breeze of something rich in dairy content and sugar. She wondered if this was the ice cream that was spoken of. She started walking down the street looking at the signs over each shop, and stopping first at Ollivander's wands. She opened the door and heard a bell overhead ring. She immediately froze and stared up at the bell, waiting for it to ring again. When it didn't she walked forward to the front counter and was greeted by Ollivander himself.

"Hello my dear, here for a new wand? I don't remember seeing you in here before; are you on Holiday?" asked Ollivander.

"No sir, I start first year tomorrow at Hogwarts" said Lillian.

"You're a bit old for a first year" said Ollivander.

"Actually I'm technically only two," said Lillian.

Ollivander stopped and looked at Lillian, his mouth slightly open "You're the the the child of Hogwarts!" he beamed.

"Yes sir, people do call me that," Lillian stated.

"I had been told you would be stopping by for some time. Let's see here," Ollivander pulled out a tape measure and began measuring Lillian, occasionally muttering 'interesting' or 'that's unusual'. He finally stopped and looked at her for a moment, rubbing his chin in contemplation. "I'll be right back," he said before disappearing down an aisle of wands. He reappeared a few moments later with several wand boxes, laying them each out for Lillian to try. The first wand she picked up refused to do anything. The next burst into flames as soon as she picked it up. Another wand disintegrated and blew away. The last one sprouted wings, flew from her hand and began attacking Ollivander. "I think given your...unique nature, a rather unique wand is appropriate...one moment please," he said before disappearing down an aisle of wands. He reappeared a few moments later holding a box covered in dust and cobwebs. "This is not a wand that I made nor is it one that my ancestors made. This was given to my grandfather in the estate of one of his competitors. They were good friends in private but fierce rivals in business. His name was Meret el Kinuff. The wand is made of ash with a core of a tail hair from a Sphinx," he said, opened the box and handed the wand to her. "Ten inches, very flexible, quite thin with a silky smooth finish" she took the wand in her hand, giving it the slightest wave. A golden light filled the room; Lillian rose up from standing to floating before softly setting back down. Ollivander named his price and Lillian paid him with a blissful look on her face. She left the shop and headed down the street to get her robes next. While walking down the street she saw Jacob and his parents, they handed Jacob several coins as he went into Madame Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. Jacobs's parents went on to look at cauldrons while Jacob was being fitted. After a moment or two Lillian entered the shop

"Hello Jacob," Lillian said, smiling at the young man.

"Err-um, I'm sorry Lillian, my dad told me not to talk to you, and he says you'll be a Slytherin for sure," replied Jacob.

"Why would that be a bad thing? I have family that is in Slytherin House, family that I'm proud of," said Lillian.

"Well, they're all dark wizards, every one of them!" He said with a raised voice.

"This is a shop not parliament," said the squat witch that was pinning Jacobs robe "If you're here for robes step up onto that footstool and we'll begin fitting you, otherwise get out!" Lillian did step up but didn't say another word to Jacob.

After the fitting Lillian went to look at cauldrons, picking out a pewter one as her list required. She got all the items on her list except for an animal. She had been trying to figure out what type of animal would be best and she still couldn't decide between a cat and a toad. She got an ice cream (peanut butter and chocolate) and sat on a bench thinking when a red headed freckle faced boy came over to her.

"I'm Charlie. Charlie Weasley. I'll be going to Hogwarts this year, would you like to be my friend?" he said.

"I'd like that Charlie. I'm Lillian, Lillian Hape" she said with a smile.

"My parents are looking at textbooks right now; do you want to go explore Knockturn Alley?" asked Charlie.

"CHARLIE!" Mrs. Weasley had come up from behind and heard his suggestion. She smiled politely at Lillian as she grabbed Charlie by the ear and dragged him off.

Lillian sighed, hoped she would see him at school and continued eating her ice cream. When she finished she walked over to the sign that said 'Knockturn Alley' and just stood there, peering down the path for a moment. She Looked around for a moment to see if anyone was watching and then as casual as could be she walked down the Alley, looking at the shops and the individuals lurking in the shadows. She felt oddly comfortable but turned and walked back to Diagon Alley before long. She walked over to The Magical Menagerie to look at the various creatures. She saw a large black cat lying in a sunny spot, drinking cream from a crystal dish. The shopkeeper noticed Lillian and said "I wouldn't recommend him if you're going to Hogwarts, he's very high maintenance and practically useless for Magic. Cats are coming back into style now, toads are getting less popular but it all depends on what you need the creature for. Cats are good for companionship and decent for pests but you wouldn't want to test an antidote on one, now would you? I have an orange one over here, very loving, huge eyes, great for hunting doxies as long as they don't go up" she looked around in one cage that was open "now where did that ruddy cat get off to?" she said. "Some people prefer owls but they make such a mess, unless you have a big family or get a lot of letters they're hardly worth it" she said as a barn owl hooted at Lillian. "Toads are great for experiments, Transfiguration, Conjuring, Alchemy and Charms but don't expect it to do more than lay there and croak" Lillian had gone over to the toads and was fascinated a very colourful one with odd horn like bumps over his eyes. While she watched the bumps flattened out, warts sprouted and he turned a swampy greenish brown. He then changed again, becoming smooth as silk and jet black.

"That one I'd practically give you. Been here almost as long as ol' crookshanks up there" she said pointing to a large ginger coloured cat curled up on a high shelf. He's a beazor toad, completely unpoisonable, very useful in transfigurations, good for charms" said the sales woman.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Lillian wearily.

"Well, he's a bit fickle, and if he isn't happy he'll hide and watch you make a fool of yourself looking for him. Plus he mostly just lays there. Not a very loving creature." she said, making a sour face.

To Lillian he looked wonderful, and just what she wanted. She bought him and the supplies he would need. She was told his name was Luther and was more loving than the shop witch thought. As soon as Lillian picked him up he turned a blush pink and squirmed until his front two legs were hugging Lillian around the neck. He pressed his toad head to her cheek and croaked softly to her. After that she felt very tired and went back to her room at the Leakey Cauldron. Kingsley was not at his post, there was another man sitting in his chair. She said good night to him, he smiled and nodded, "Goodnight miss. There will be a car for you in the morning. Tom, the bartender knows a former student of Hogwarts who drives one of those cab things; he'll be expecting you outside at eight," the guard said.

"Okay" she said.

Chapter 10 Travel/Travail

She fell asleep as soon as she touched her mattress and did not change into her night clothes, Luther gently croaking. She slept without disturbance awakening at eight the next morning. She washed and changed into clean clothes and packed. Everything fit into her trunk without problem. When it closed it lifted off the ground and hovered on its own. "WOW!" she said. She hadn't expected the trunk to have a locomotor spell. She opened the door and walked out, tripping on the edge of the door with the trunk following her. She made her way down the stairs to the door, opened the door and walked out. The trunk stopped at the door sprouting wheels and a leather leash like handle. She took the handle in her hand and gave it a slight tug and it only rolled as long as she pulled. She assumed it had some muggle secrecy spell on it keeping it from following around when muggles are present. Very clever she thought. A cab pulled up and the driver hopped out. He hadn't shaved recently but was smiling happily. He was wearing a very bright pair of pink plaid trousers, a white button down long sleeve shirt, a butter yellow sweater vest and a dingy pork pie hat of indeterminate colour. The driver opened the back door for Lillian and she took a look inside as she entered. The cab was a great deal bigger inside than it appeared on the outside. The driver's seat and passenger seat next to the driver were both plush recliners covered in a cheetah print, there were two couches in the back with the same stained cheetah print. The cab had a rusty golden snitch hanging from the rear view mirror, its wings fluttering weakly, a multitude of miniature pine trees growing upside down from the ceiling. There was an iguana sitting in the seat next to the driver who appeared to be reading a map and was holding a lit cigarette.

"Good Morning Miss. Names Nigel, let me help you with that," the driver said as he picked up her trunk and put it in the boot and hopped in the driver's side seat.

"I charge a standard flat rate no matter where you're going of five silver sickles, so where are we headed?" he asked.

"Kings Cross Station, please," said Lillian.

"Ah, headin to Hogwarts eh? This your forf year or fif?" asked Nigel.

"Actually it's my first" said Lillian

"Oh...um, kinda a late bloomer, eh?" replied Nigel.

"No, I just look much older than I am," said Lillian.

"Oh poor thing," is all he said, but he was thinking by the time she's an adult she'll look like an old crone. Must be how Hags are born!

He took out his wand and stuck it into a hole that the driver normally places their car key and the engine fired up. He pulled out into traffic and they were on their way. The rest of the journey was quiet and only took about fifteen minutes. Nigel parked the cab and got a trolley for Lillian's truck. He pushed the trolley along for her to a spot between platforms nine and ten. He pointed her trolley to one of the barriers. "Got your ticket, miss?"

"Yes Nigel" she said as she pulled a crumpled ticket out of her pocket.

"All right. You know how to get on? Aim at that barrier right there, push your cart to it, give it some speed and you'll just sail through," he said, turning and starting to walk away.

"Nigel?" she called to him

"Yes Miss?" he said as he turned to her

"Thank you," she said, handing him five silver sickles and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

He just stood there for a moment, dumb-struck and smiling before turning and walking off.

She got behind her trolley and took off at a run, tripping on her own feet. Her Trolley kept going, sailing through the barrier without her. Lillian got up and dusted herself off, and took off again at a run passing easily through the barrier. Luther, her toad, had wiggled out of her trunk and was sitting on top of it staring at her as she came through. He hopped onto her shoulder and just sat there, staring straight ahead. She saw the Hogwarts express sitting on its tracks, walked up to it and said 'Hello' to it. She walked over to one of the doors for the carriers and handed her ticket to the man who stood there. Her trunks wheels and leash had disappeared and it had hopped off the trolley of its own accord. She boarded the train with the trunk following her. She found an empty compartment stowing her trunk easily. She sat down on her seat soon she would be back to the only place she had ever known as home. She wondered what Dumbledore had been doing over the summer, where Madame Hooch had gone for holiday this year, and how Filch was.

"This time you'll be meeting the Master. No ministry fools to get in the way, no teachers or bartenders, just you, me, and the master," said a voice without a body. A moment later there was a loud bang and the compartment was suddenly empty.

When Lillian woke up she was somewhere cold and dark, her hands were bound in front of her. She was sitting on damp stone and was alone. She had no idea how long she had been there before awakening, she had no idea where she was. She couldn't smell anything other than moist mouldy air; the only sound she heard was an occasional drip of water and an echo of the drip. She tried to stand but there seemed to be something connecting the rope on her wrists to the floor. She began thinking of Hogwarts and how she was missing the sorting, missing the opening announcement from Dumbledore, missing the feast and she started crying. After a while Lillian heard the sound of footsteps, they sounded like they were coming down a set of stone steps. She saw light hitting against the wall; she could now see the stairs, stone and spiral, about five meters from her. The light was coming from a torch being held by a hooded and cloaked figure. As he reached the bottom of the stairs he turned and shined his light on her.

"WHAT! Awake already!? That potion should have kept you under for a week!" the torch bearer said. A moment later another man, this one taller and thin with long blonde hair and a very attractive face, he was probably in his mid to late twenties, wearing a green robe, the hood of his robe was a royal purple colour.

"You really thought that with your lack of talent in potions, Mordred? Slughorn let you pass as a favour to your family, not because of any talent. If it wasn't for your mother you would have gotten a Troll," said the second wizard.

The first wizard, a short stocky fellow, who Lillian recognized now as the man in black that visited her at Hogs Head and had attempted to kidnapped her at the Leakey Cauldron. She vaguely remembered him forcing a liquid down her throat when the arrived from the train via side-along apparation.

"NAMES! We're not supposed to use our real names!" shouted the shorter wizard.

"Really? Do you have such little confidence in yourself to think she'll escape?" said the taller wizard.

"But Lord Datura said-"stammered the shorter wizard.

"I'm aware of what our dear dread Lord told us, I'm also aware of how often you fail at executing even the simplest of plans. I would like to suggest that she join us?" said the taller wizard.

"WHAT?! You speak in madness! Listen to the Ministry of our Master! The only wizard to come close to rivalling the power of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" said the shorter wizard.

"The Master wants to tap the resources within her mind, her power would come along much more easily if given willingly. Also, our dear master never said to kill her, just bring her here" said the taller wizard.

"Excuse me, but why have you brought me here? Other than being born a little differently I'm just pretty normal" said Lillian.

The two wizards looked at her for a moment, and then to each other, the handsome one smiling smugly while the other looked confused. They then turned their attention to the staircase and bowed deeply. Another man was descending the stairs, he had a brown tweed jacket and khaki pants, short dark hair, he looked to be in his mid to late twenties, other than the wand in his hand he could be mistaken for muggle professor.

"Your very nature is an unusual power. Born of two wizards with a cauldron serving as the womb from which you sprang? The only more rare form of alchemy is the creation of a Philosopher's Stone, which, I believe, may have assisted in your creation. As to any powers other than that, you haven't been fully tested yet now have you? You've received some lessons from Hogwarts along with the prodigious knowledge you were born with, but you've never been put in a life threatening situation, now have you? I want to apologise for the rough treatment Lord Foxglove has given. I made the mistake of giving him free reign to capture you, based on his overtly poor assessment of you. His reconnaissance suggested that you could barely communicate and needed assistance in feeding and personal hygiene. I'm about to release your bonds and return your wand. Feel free to try escaping or calling for help, neither will do you any good. I ask that you don't scream as the sound will bounce off these walls and give us all headaches," he said, swishing his wand. The rope around her wrists fell away and her wand sprang forth from the belt of the shorter, whinier wizard. She held it for a moment eyeing her captors. She thought about her next action, searching her mind for a spell to aid her and words came from her, words she did not recall ever reading in any book or hearing from any teacher, words that came from a past not quite her own, words filled with anger and malice-"SECTUMSEMPRA!" She shouted, waving her wand at her captors. She opened her eyes to survey what, if anything had happened.

The shortest wizard, Lillian's kidnapper, lay on the ground, his belly split wide open, blood pouring forth, and he was trying to close his own wounds but failing badly. The second wizard, Lord Monkshood, had received a deep gash going from the tip of his middle finger on his right hand to the tip if his middle finger on the left hand. Lord Datura seemed to have received only a deep cut to his right cheek, it was bleeding but not profusely.

"Most impressive. I used my strongest shielding charm yet you still cut me! Lord Monkshood, assist Foxglove in healing, we don't want dear Lillian having murder on her heart yet. As to your suggestion of persuading her to join us rather than killing her and draining her of all her essence, you are right, she would be far more useful alive," stated Lord Datura.

"Join you? Are you mad!? You harassed me, kidnapped me, locked me in a cold dark room and now you want me to join you?" asked Lillian.

"There's really good fringe benefits, there's a secret handshake and everything," said Lord Monkshood, smirking.

"I realize now that we should have gone about this differently, more respectfully, I am sorry. Lillian I will free you under a few conditions. First we will have a dinner in your honour in which I will explain who we are and what we are doing. After that I want you to consider coming back here after you've concluded your education at Hogwarts. I will send you an occasional owl; I don't expect anything in return unless you wish to join. Do you understand?" said Lord Datura.

"Yes" said Lillian.

"Good. Lord Monkshood, please show our guest to the bath, have an appropriate dinner dress brought up to her," said Lord Datura.

"Yes master," said Lord Monkshood with a bow. "Lillian, please follow me," he said to her smiling radiantly at her.

"This was one of my parent's house, they had a bad run in with an Auror, and left me the house and a trust fund. I met Lord Datura at Hogwarts, we became friends during detention. I was good at charms and anything using my sharp wit and sharper tongue, but he's good at just about everything. Lord Foxglove is mostly muscle; he has no problem doing the dirty jobs," said Lord Monkshood.

"Like kidnapping?" Lillian asked.

"Kidnapping, obtaining body parts, as well as special fluids. I tend to obtain most of our groups antiquities, I have quite a few connections in less than honest businesses," Lillian followed Lord Monkshood up the spiral staircase, she followed him up two flights of stairs and then down a corridor. He opened a door on the right.

"This is our guest room. The bath is just through those double doors. There's a dresser that will produce any garment you can think of, just concentrate hard. It will know your size. The only colour it does is white though," he said.

Lillian bathed and dressed, the dress she received was a white knee length a-line with lace trim. She kept thinking that she could escape now if she wanted to, but strangely she didn't want to. Maybe Lord Monkshood performed a charm of some sort on her but she felt she needed to at least hear what they said.

She came out of the room and found a small glowing purple flower, floating at eye level. When she reached up for it the flower spoke: It said 'follow me, please' in the voice of Lord Monkshood. She followed it down the hall to a set of stairs, down the stairs and through a corridor to another room, this one a dining hall. Lord Datura, Lord Monkshood and Lord Foxglove were all in formal robes, sitting at a table with four place settings. Lord Datura's robes looked like they were made of velvet; they were black with gold trim. Lord Monkshood was wearing what appeared to be a satin lavender coloured robe, and Lord Foxglove was wearing a very shabby mauve coloured robe that looked two sizes too small, and two centuries out of style.

The table was hexagonal, made of oak and very finely polished. Fine crystal stem ware sat on the table, trimmed in gold. Fine china plates and bowls were on the table, each one with a deep Purple L in the centre. There was no food on the table yet. They all stood up as Lillian arrived, Lord Monkshood pulling out a chair for Lillian by hand. Lillian thanked Lord Monkshood and he bowed slightly. They all sat down and a whole roasted venison shank appeared on the table in front of them, as well as a tureen of soup, fresh bread, butter, potatoes, and green beans. Red wine magically filled their wine glasses.

Lord Datura raised a glass and said "To our future, may it always be brilliant," They all toasted with him, including Lillian. They all tucked in to this feast. After dinner but before any dessert was presented Lillian looked over to Lord Datura and said "So, what is this society of yours all about?"

"CALL HIM MASTER!" Shouted Lord Foxglove, who had stains of food and drink covering his chest. He managed to launch a pea sized chunk of venison from his mouth onto Lillian's plate.

"That is not necessary. She is not a member of our coven and does not have to use that title," said Lord Datura.

"So what is this group of yours?" asked Lillian.

"We are the Nightshade Society. We are a growing group of Wizards who wish to pursue magical research that is considered to be of questionable morality and ethics, not simply for the sake of practising dark arts but for reaching a definitive conclusion without the social impediments of what is right or wrong; we take facts and find the truth. Research into curing the squib issue, artificial life, creation of hybrid magical/muggle tools, and the list goes on. We consider the goals of our research to be far too important to worry about moral and ethical concerns. We realise that the Majority of our work is not legal, but we are driven to go where no one has gone before. Many notable witches and wizards have been members of our group at one time or another, including Nicholas Flamel, legendary inventor of the philosopher's stone. Unfortunately after that he stopped coming to meetings or having anything to do with us, won't return any of my owls. Flamel left the society before your great grandfather was born, Lord Datura" said Lord Monkshood.

"HERESY" screamed Lord Foxglove.

"No, he's right, Flamel did leave us centuries ago shortly after creating the philosophers stone, but the majority of his work and research were done at the Societies headquarters using funds from the society," said Lord Datura.

"Which bankrupted it until we reformed it," chimed in Lord Monkshood.

"Again true, but since then we have started subtly recruiting and researching," stated Lord Datura

"Has the society had any recent successes in its research yet?" queried Lillian

"Actually everything that you're experiencing is due to a success on our part. This home exists partially outside of time as we understand it. From the time we kidnapped you till the time we set you free it will have been three hours, which means you won't miss the train to Hogwarts, unless you choose to stay here," said Lord Monkshood.

"Really? With no side effects?" asked Lillian suspiciously.

"Actually there are some side effects, but they are controllable and will dissipate after three days. Once you return to normal time Normal time will begin trying to catch up with you. You will develop a condition that will feel like you didn't get any sleep for the next three evenings. Also any time you are doing any activity that you enjoy, time will go by faster. Time will also go slower during boring activities, especially during your 'History of Magic' class"

"Well, this is all very interesting, but I would like to go back to real time now if you don't mind," Lillian said

"Without dessert? I have spotted dick..." said Lord Monkshood with a mischievous grin

"That sounds like a personal problem and no thank you. I will consider the idea of joining you after I have been graduated from Hogwarts,"

"That is all that we ask of you. Lord Foxglove, since you obtained her, you shall return her-gently," said Lord Datura. All three men stood up, bowing to Lillian. Lord Monkshood took her hand and kissed it, saying "Au revoir ma cheire," Lillian blushed and stumbled away as Lord Foxglove took her by the other hand and pulled her down the hall. He stopped in the hallway, took out his wand, pulled his hood over his face and said "here we go". They disappeared, appearing a moment later on the Hogwarts express in the middle of the hall. He let her go and disappeared again. Lillian found the compartment she had been in was now occupied by a group of first years that smelled like they had bathed in some sickly sweet stench. Lillian notice that one seat was still open amongst the sleeping students.

She sat down in the empty seat and stared out the window, letting her thoughts drift to a place beyond time. Dozing off, she was awakened by the sound of another girl opening the compartment and shouting, "Arrival in fifteen minutes! Change into your robes on the double!"

Lillian stood up and realized she still had on the formal dress she was given at Lord Monkshood's home, which the other girls noticed too.

"Fancy dress m'lay, should we bow now?" one of the girls said to her. The other two giggled as they changed from jeans and t-shirts into Hogwarts student robes. Lillian blushed and changed as quickly as she could, shoving the fancy dress into her trunk without a word.

"What's your name, my lady?" asked the first girl. She was skinny and had curly, bleach-blonde hair that came down past her shoulders; her dark roots showed unattractively. Her friends were also blonde, one was painfully thin and bleach-blonde but without dark roots showing. The third girl was a natural blonde but heavy set and reeked of a sickly sweet perfume. All three had spent quite some time tanning and were wearing very heavy make-up.

"Lillian. Lillian Hape" she said.

"Hape? Never heard of that family. I bet you're a mudblood. Well, you can't be one of our friends; we only take purebloods in our group." said the bleach-blonde with the roots showing

"Why would I want to be your friend?" asked Lillian

"Why? Oh, this is really good, she asked why she would want to join us, you did hear that, right, Beatrice?" asked the bleach-blonde that desperately needed her roots done.

The emaciated girl grinned malevolently "yeah, Janice, that's what our lady the mudblood said"

"Stop calling me that! I'm not a mudblood, both my parents went to Hogwarts!" said Lillian angrily.

The heavier girl grabbed Lillian by the hair and pulled her head back placing her wand across Lillian's throat. "You'd better listen up my dear mudblood. We're from the noblest and darkest of families and we don't like your kind at our school. You'd better think real long and hard about taking this train right back to mudblood land"

"That's right mudblood, listen to willow!" said Janice. Lillian decided she'd had enough of this, giving Willow a sharp elbow to the stomach. Willow released Lillian's hair while Lillian grabbed her by the wrist and elbow of her wand hand, throwing her into her two friends. Lillian then took out her wand and stood over them pointing her wand at them.

"If any of you ever touch me or call me mudblood again you'll see just how dark I can get," the train started to grind to a halt, the station outside Hogsmeade was in sight. Lillian tucked her wand away and turned toward the door. The train came to a complete stop. Lillian opened the door of the compartment and was about to step out of the compartment when Janice grabbed Lillian's ankle. Lillian looked at her, still stuck in the pile of her friends and said "I warned you". A moment later Lillian's trunk fell onto the girl pile, rolling down them, with one corner coming down on Janice's wrist. She screamed in pain and let go of Lillian's ankle. Lillian calmly walked out of the compartment while her trunk stayed for a moment, the weight of the whole trunk bearing down on one spot of Janice's wrist for a moment before there was a sickening crack of bone. The trunk then tumbled off of Janice's now broken wrist and followed Lillian out of the compartment to the exit.

Lillian stepped off the train and saw Hagrid. She turned to her trunk and told it to go with the other luggage and it obeyed after a moment's hesitation. Hagrid saw her and came up to her with a huge grin on his face.

"Hello Lillian, I'm really sorry about having to leave you behind like that, but it was important Hogwarts business. You didn't get into any trouble, did yeh?" He asked. Lillian saw Janice, Willow, and Beatrice get off the train, Janice holding her broken wrist and heading directly to Hagrid.

"Nothing that I couldn't handle mummy" she said, giving Hagrid a big hug in front of Janice and her friends.

"All right, head on down to the boats, leave yer luggage behind, it goes up separately," Hagrid said to her. He continued to call for all first years to follow him; Janice did finally muster the courage to talk to Hagrid, throwing a tantrum when he didn't believe that Lillian had attacked her. He did send an owl for Madame Pomfrey to come quickly due to an injured student.

She came and healed Janice, trying to haul her off to the hospital wing, but Janice refused saying that would make her miss the opening banquet.

Lillian went down to the boats with the rest of the first years, climbing into one with three other students, none of whom she knew. As the boats started sailing along everyone introduced themselves, there was some small talk but most of the time was spent looking into the deep and dark night sky and the growing sight of the castle. One of the boys in the boat said to Lillian "That's going to be home for the next seven years," She just smiled and said "it's a great place to call home,"

Chapter 11 Be it anything but humble...

The boats docked under the castle and the students made their way up the passageway following Hagrid up to the Oak front door to the Castle. Hagrid knocked on the door which opened immediately, with Professor McGonagall standing in the doorway.

"I present to you the first year students" said Hagrid, beaming with pride.

"Follow me please" McGonagall said. They walked through the massive doors and down the hall. Most of the students were oohing and ahing over the stonework and the ceilings but to Lillian this was just her home. They walked to a small room off to the side of the great hall where Professor McGonagall gave her normal first year speech about the sorting and the houses and the house cup, before leaving them for a few moments. They could hear a din of noise from the great hall from all the excited students chatting with each other. There was some chatter amongst the first years wondering how they'd be sorted and into which of the houses before McGonagall returned.

"Form up a single file line and follow me," she said. She led them across the hall into the great hall, past the house tables and to the front, where all the professors sat. Lillian smiled and nodded in Professor Snape's direction, she saw just the slightest flicker of a smile in response. The first years were gathered around a stool with a patched and ancient looking hat sitting on it. All of the students (and many of the professors) sat in rapt attention. For a moment there was just silence throughout the room and the hat began twitching and started its song, a new one for a new year.

Hogwarts! O Hogwarts, Greatest school of this land

We begin another year taking knowledge firm in hand

Bright and eager faces coming forth ready to know

So you ask your sorting hat where each of them should go

Gryffindor Great Gryffindor,

Courage distilled and prime

Only the strong and brave

May enter there line.

Hufflepuff O Hufflepuff

Friends to those in need

Loyalty, hard work and acceptance

Is their sacred creed.

Ravenclaw O Ravenclaw

Their minds shine so bright

Wisdom and intellect

Is their guiding light.

Slytherin, dear Slytherin

Cunning is what stokes your fire

Doing whatever you need

To achieve your desire.

So come new friends and try me on

Finding your home is my personal spice

I will tell you where is best for you to go

I promise the truth in my advice

At this the Sorting hat fell silent, waiting to be placed on a head.

"When I call your name, step forward and place the hat on your head. Once you are sorted return the hat to its stool and take you place at the appropriate table," Professor McGonagall took out a long scroll, unrolled it and began reading the names listed

"Albert, Alvin" was the first name called. A red-headed boy came forward, picked up the hat, turned around to face the rest of the student body, placed the hat on his head for a brief moment before the hat proclaimed "Slytherin!" to the cheers of the Slytherin table. The Next student was Edward Allan, who was pronounced a Gryffindor. Next was Rhiannon Browning who was the first Ravenclaw. Janice Barrette, who was still rubbing a sore wrist, was sorted into Slytherin. As she headed to her table she glared at Lillian and mouthed the word "I'll get you". Next came Willow Buckland, Janice's plus sized heavily perfumed cohort who also was sorted into Slytherin. Nicholas Duncan and his twin sister Nikki went into Ravenclaw.

"Hape, Lillian" was called; she walked calmly to the stool, picked up the hat, slowly lowering onto her head. She could feel the hat feeling its way through her mind "Lillian! I remember you from when you snuck into Dumbledore's office. I've been waiting to sit on your head for a while. Fascinating. You have a highly conflicting mind. I can sense qualities that could put you in any of the houses, very difficult indeed. Such differences lead me to one intelligent and logical choice - Ravenclaw!" the hat shouted.

Next came Beatrice Henge, Janice and Willows painfully skinny friend. The hat was on her for only a moment before proclaiming to her and her friends surprise "Gryffindor!" She stood with a shocked look for a moment before heading to the Gryffindor table. After Beatrice came Alice Liddell (Gryffindor), Horace Patrick Lovework (Slytherin), Rothgar MacLaren (Ravenclaw), followed by four more Hufflepuffs (Kirk Nettles, Roberta Plante, Georgia Dow, and Paige Jamison). Next came William Stocks (Gryffindor) Markus Tiberius (Ravenclaw), Lillian's former friend Jacob Vencion (Hufflepuff) and finally Charles Weasley, a Gryffindor.

Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll, placed it under her arm before picking up the hat and stool and walked off to store it until next year. Professor Dumbledore Stood up smiling. He raised his arms as if he were trying to hug all the students at once.

"Welcome dear students to a fresh new year here at Hogwarts. Before we begin the banquet I would like to remind all students that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all who wish to continue living. Also, Mr. Filch, our caretaker has requested that I remind you to not perform Magic between classes. Anyone interested in trying out for a house Quidditch team should contact Madame Hooch. And now, let the feast begin!" He said with a flourish of his hands. Suddenly the tables were filled with all manner of foods from roasts of every species to vegetables of all variety, tureens of soup, and bowls of every variety of potato.

Lillian suspected that the house elves knew where she was sitting because there were a large amount of fish based soups and traditional breakfast items near her end of the table. Lillian was taking pancakes, placing scrambled eggs, bacon, and cheese on the pancakes and rolling it up before dipping the concoction in a bowl of lobster bisque. Some of her fellow Ravenclaws noticed her and then went back to their own dinner while others sat with wrapped and mortified attention to what she was doing. She was also eating bangers that she would dip one end into ketchup and the other into table syrup. Lillian offered one to Rothgar but he declined the culinary adventure. Lillian started feeling full and sleepy when all the food disappeared and was replaced by desserts. She ate some Chocolate mousse but had to force down the last bite.

After the desserts cleared off Dumbledore stood up again still with a cheerful smile on his face, the other Professors, including Hagrid but especially Snape looked like their smiles were now very forced. "Before we head off to our houses, let us sing a song that unifies us, the Hogwarts school song. Just pick your favourite tune and sing along!"

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."

The students all finished at different times and there was a loud round of applause for everyone before they all stood and began filing out of the Great hall. Lillian followed the Ravenclaw Prefect in a slightly dazed state up to their tower, listened as she explained that unlike other houses who depended on a code word for entry Ravenclaw relied logic puzzles, an enemy to many wizards. Stormy, the prefect had each of the first years stand aside as the rest of the house went in. She then had the first years each take a turn introducing themselves to the golden eagle door knocker that guarded the Ravenclaw tower door and solving one of its puzzles.

After they had taken turns they entered the doorway and gazed in amazement at what stood before them. The central room of the tower had a circular layout and was decorated in blue and bronze. All the walls were covered in bookcases except those that gave a view of the surrounding mountains. Above their heads was a domed ceiling with stairs painted on. The stars twinkled and Lillian could tell with a glance that they were in the right position for this time of the year. The carpet was also a midnight blue with twinkling stars but these stars would only be seen in this arrangement in exactly six months, the carpet was in sync with the view that would be seen on the opposite side of the earth from where they stood. Lillian noticed the white marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw standing by the doorway leading up to their rooms. Rowena's face gave a look of pure elegance and undeniable wisdom. As Lillian approached the door to the 'nests' as Stormy liked to call them Lillian felt the overwhelming need to kneel before the statue. As she stood up Lillian noticed the expression on Rowena's face had changed into a slight smirk, Lillian then turned and went up the stairs on the right (the girls side) to the first door up, marked first years.

She found an empty bed with her trunk sitting in front of it, a set of nightclothes laid out on her bed and Luther asleep on her pillow, the blanket covering his lower half. Lillian changed clothes and then climbed in bed, snuggling up next to Luther. She fell asleep immediately dreaming that Lord Monkshood was serenading her as they rode in a canoe together. She woke up after what felt like a second had passed, with Rhiannon Browning, another first year, shaking her and saying loudly "we're going to be late!"

Chapter 12 A pattern emerges

Lillian dressed quickly, running down the stairs. Rhiannon caught up to her and the went straight to Charms, skipping breakfast. After Professor Flitwick took roll the first lesson was in how to correctly hold and use your wand without poking anyone's eye out. There was a throughout discussion of pronunciation of various words and common mistakes in charms. After Charms came Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Poof. Professor Poof was legendary for being able to identify dark creatures and spells and escaping quickly, which he felt was the most appropriate method of dealing with the dark arts-figure out what it was and then run to the nearest Auror. The class took place in an unused room as wide as a standard classroom but almost as long as the great hall. The class was conducted almost entirely while running back and forth from one end of the room to the other while Professor Poof conjured images of various dark creatures chasing the students. He would also shout out details of what was after them, such as its name, where it was from, what it could do and where in the textbook you could find out more about it.

Next Lillian had Transfigurations. Professor McGonagall had always bee friendly to Lillian but she seemed to be much more strict in the classroom than Lillian remembered, she actually docked Ravenclaw five points when Rothgar and Markus were thirty seconds late. Another five points were taken when Rhiannon paused for a moment before giving an answer to a question. "She favours the Gryffindors by being horrible to the other houses. I have a sister who graduated last year, she was a Ravenclaw and despised McGonagall almost as much as Professor Sprout" Lillian took lunch after Transfigurations, normally eating pot noodles mixed with baked beans and melted cheddar cheese. After she had lunch she had History of Magic which felt like it lasted three class periods and Lillian began drifting off near the end of the class. Her day ended with Professor Sprout's Herbology which wasn't as bad as she had been led to believe. Most of the period was spent taking measurements and weights of dirt, fertilizer and seeds. Lillian had no problem with the physical labour of herbology but her classmates seem to be much more winded. The day ended and Lillian considered skipping dinner and hitting the showers before going to bed, but her stomach objected strenuously. She went to the Great hall for dinner and had steamed trout with herbs at the Ravenclaw table. She felt like she was being watched for a while. Just before she was about to get up Janice and Willow ran up to Lillian and dumped a tureen full of boiling hot gravy and a large bowl of steaming mashed potatoes on her head before attempting to run off. They thought they would get away with it since the only teacher in the great hall at the time was Professor Snape, head of their house, Slytherin. Professor Snape hit them with a Leg Lock curse before they got more than a meter away and gave them detention on the spot, assigning them to clean bedpans in the Hospital ward for a week. He told them that if they pulled a stunt like that again they'd be kicked out of Slytherin. He then walked the potato and gravy covered Lillian to the hospital ward where she was treated for burns.

The next day was double Potions with Hufflepuffs. Lillian was happy to be a student of Professor Snapes and felt he treated her the same as all the other students. He even docked her one point for being a know-it-all. He asked her to stay after class. Severus smiled briefly after all the other students had left. He seemed to be having difficulty finding the right words to say to her, there were several 'ums' and 'errs' and pauses.

"Lillian, I did not enjoy leaving you alone, but I assume you had no problems?"

"No problems at all, Professor. I actually enjoyed the experience. I made several new friends, have you ever heard of a group called the Nightshade Society?"

"I have heard mention of them, supplied certain magical tools and potions to the Dark Lord, but the last of their group was sent off to Azkaban. Why do you ask?" He asked suspiciously

"The man in black who was after me contacted me. He claims to be with them," Lillian said.

"Do you have his name?" asked Severus.

"Mordred. I didn't get his family name, but he prefers 'Lord Foxglove'" said Lillian.

"That is helpful, thank you. I wish half of the other students paid attention like you. That will be all," he said, straightening his robe as he stood up.

After this Lillian headed off to her first lesson in magical flight - introductory brooms with Madame Hooch. Lillian found out quickly that brooms were not one of her natural talents. She said up to her broom and at first it did nothing. She repeated herself and on the third up (when most people were already on their brooms, waiting to take off) Lillian's broom finally lifted up to knee height before hovering off back to the castle. Lillian never did get airborne during that lesson. After the lesson Madam Hooch comforted her with a chocolate frog. "don't worry about it. I've never seen Professor Snape get more than two feet off the ground on a broom. Hagrid's size managed to scare off every broom the castle has, and they're still wonderful, impressive members of the community,"

Tuesday nights were spent on the Astronomy tower. During her first class Nicholas Duncan accidentally dropped his telescope and could not find all the pieces so Lillian let him look through hers. Nicholas wasn't sure what he was looking for so Lillian continued leaning over him to check his aim, their cheeks brush each other and near the end of the class Nicholas kissed her on the lips. The kiss left Lillian stunned for a few moments. After that life progressed quickly, Lillian did wonderfully in Astronomy, Charms, Herbology, History, Potions, and Transfigurations. She developed fairly well defined calves and quadriceps from her Defence against the Dark Arts class and finally managed to get her broom off the ground the week of Halloween. She still had occasional run ins with Janice in the girls lavatory or the library but Willow, fearing Snape more than Janice, looked for easier people to bully, like her former friend Beatrice. When Beatrice was sorted into Gryffindor all friendship between her and her former friends died, Janice and Willow actually hated Beatrice more than they did Lillian. Beatrice on the other hand gained a little weight, stopped wearing excessive make-up and started looking healthy. One day in the middle of November Beatrice came over to the Ravenclaw table and asked Lillian to please meet her in the Library after class. When Lillian got there she saw Willow and Janice hitting and kicking Beatrice while the librarian wasn't watching. Lillian levitated two large and heavy books to a meter above Willow and Janice's heads before dropping them, knocking the two bullies out. Beatrice had hoped that Lillian might help, as the other two had been assaulting her for the past few weeks. She then asked Lillian if Lillian could tutor her in Transfigurations and Potions. They started meeting in the Library every night after class which started rumours about the both of them. Lillian later found out that Professors McGonagall and Snape had recommended that Beatrice go to Lillian for tutoring. On weekends Lillian could either be found in the company of Hagrid playing Gobstones or working with Beatrice. The captain of the Ravenclaw Gobstone team tried to recruit Lillian many times but Lillian kept turning her down telling her that she didn't want to be that competitive. Lillian also dabbled in wizards chess but didn't like the violence of it.

"Two people fighting is different than sending little stone men off to bash each other to small pieces" she once said.

As Christmas approached Lillian noticed some tension between her parents. One day Hagrid word be whistling a joyous tune while Snape would be extra surly and gruff with the world and the next day Hagrid would be swinging back and forth between anger and tears while Snape was as happy as a lark. This went on for two weeks before Lillian sent them each an owl with a message that simply read 'Family meeting, the unused classroom on the west side of the fourth floor, at nine' Severus showed up slightly early with Hagrid slightly late and out of breath.

"Ruddy staircase started moving while I was on it. every one of them would choose to go elsewhere as soon as I stepped on," he said. Severus had a grin subtle enough that only Lillian could notice it. "not very nice of you father." she scolded him.

"WHAT? You mean he jinxed them stairs to move when I got there? YOU INSUFFERABLE PRAT!" Hagrid bellowed at Snape

Hagrid started coming toward Snape, fists clenched, Snape raised his wand in warning. "STOP! Both of you start behaving like the adults you are supposed to be!" both men stopped in their tracks and turned to Lillian, slightly crestfallen.

"I called you both here because I keep hearing from other students that you two are each alternating between being the essence of happiness and harbingers of hurt, which means you, are doing something to each other. I want this to stop now and I want you to explain yourselves, "Lillian said with a crossed look.

Hagrid was the first to say anything "Lillian, sweetums, me and yer dad are havin a disagreement over who you'll be staying with for the Christmas Holiday. Severus wants to take you to some dusty pile o bricks that needs to be condemned-"said Hagrid.

"It was my father's house and now it is mine. It is Spinners End. I don't go there often but I thought it would be a nice change from the castle. Hagrid would be welcome on Christmas day for at least a few hours," pleaded Snape.

"YER TRYING TO STEAL HER AWAY FROM ME!" Hagrid bellowed

"MOMMY! Calm Down! Now, what I had been thinking of doing was staying here at Hogwarts, but I am intrigued by the house idea. I would be willing to come to the house at spinner's end on the condition that Mummy comes with and can stay as long as I'm there, " Lillian said.

Snape rolled his eyes and only replied with "if you insist, although there were plans to visit a few old... associates on Christmas day and I would like to introduce Lillian to them" Snape stated.

"And how many of them are former death eaters?" asked Hagrid.

"They were cleared of all wrongdoings." said Snape.

"So they're all former death eater, are they? I'm guessing the Malfoys, the Crabbes, the Goyles-"said Hagrid.

"To name a few yes. Its important to maintain contacts in the wizarding world and I want to introduce Lillian to so of the...Important ...people in this world." stated Snape, nose slightly raised.

"I don't want our daughter gettin chummy with people what used to follow you-know-who," Hagrid said whispering the last part.

"How about we keep this simply a family thing, I can be introduced to your friends at some other date," responded Lillian.

"I would at least like to have you meet the Malfoys, they have a young son," said Snape

"All right, she can go to the Malfoys for a visit. A short visit, and no meals with them" said Hagrid with irritation.

"Good, is there anything else we need to discuss?" Lillian asked. Both men said no. "All right, then I'll see you both around," and Lillian left heading back to the Ravenclaw tower. Severus and Rubeus just stood their, dumbfounded as to the whirlwind of a child they each considered their daughter before they departed.

The day before Lillian was to leave with Snape and Hagrid an owl arrived for Lillian, the Owl bore a single letter embossed with a dark purple wax seal, the letter 'L' pressed into the wax. Lillian took the letter to an unused girls lavatory. She knew that Moaning Myrtle haunted it but had always had fun experiences with Myrtle.

"Hello Myrtle" Lillian said as she entered, trying to be polite to the resident spirit.

"Hello Lillian. Not many people greet me before they see me. Most don't even greet me after they see me, why is that?" Myrtle said as she rose from one of the stalls. Lillian smiled.

"Most people have lost interest in proper etiquette and manners. I have to admit, I'm not as good at it as I would like, but I am trying," she said as she broke the wax seal on the letter. She was careful to not let any of the wax fall onto the floor, fearing it might be as disrespectful as littering in a neighbours house.

"Ah, so what do you have there? a letter from a secret admirer?" Myrtle said as she flew behind Lillian to try and read the letter.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Lillian said, turning to face Myrtle.

"Oh, is he good looking? Has he tried wiggling his tongue in your ear?" said as she glided sideways, to see more of the letter.

Lillian giggled "Lord Monkshood is quite good looking, but no, he's never placed his tongue or any other body part within me. I would like to read this privately, please," Lillian said.

Myrtle looked taken aback for a moment before saying "go ahead, ignore me..." and drifting back to her stall.

"I do like talking to you Myrtle," Lillian said as Myrtle sank into the bowl. Lillian knew she wasn't upset or she would have made a tremendous splash. Lillian removed the letter from the envelope and began to read the letter. There were three sheets of paper in the envelope. They were hand written in three different shades of sparkling ink. The first letter was a black ink that sparked but the writing was heavy and blocky. The second was green but in a more spirally flowing handwriting. The third was a sparkling purple ink but in the same hand writing of the second. She suspected that it would disappear after being read.

My Dearest Lillian

We have hoped you were enjoying the school year, we see that our faith in you was not misplaced.

It is unfortunate that you flying skills lag so far behind, but not everyone can be perfect.

Lord Foxglove was arrested recently and we hoped he would be freed on bail, but he appears to have

lost his desire to continue being in the group, he confessed to stalking you and to being a death eater.

Your skills in school have been noticed by other individuals who seeks knowledge

of your past. We believe you may come under a great deal more scrutiny if you

unusual birth becomes public knowledge.

Just the other day we found that ministry officials discussed covering up your birth

or if such an idea was beyond the scope of their duties. It is sad that the ministry would consider such

ideas. In our opinion the exact details of your birth are between you and your parents,

no one else.

until the end of your academic studies and most

sincerely

?

She admired the first letter for another moment before the writing vanished and the paper turned to dust. She began to read the second letter.

I bring this letter as a warning

we have intelligence on a fellow student

making her way into your life

it is terrible to relate this

practically an atrocity

nightshade watches and warns

accept this warning

we pray to you

after this upcoming holiday

watch for her to seek

closer candour with you

assume such friendship seeks to ease information

regarding your parentage

if her devotion works

or information is divulged accidentally

wicked intentions from the parents of her former friends will seek your end

we urge caution but know this, quid pro quo may win protection

in her closet there are skeletons much worse than your secret.

added caution must be taken when it comes to food or drinks she brings.

She finished the second letter and the letters faded until it was a blank piece of parchment, which burst into flames. She began reading the third letter, this one was written in the same handwriting as the second but in a shimmering, glittery purple ink.

I pray to thee that this letter finds good fortune in your heart

I pray to the that this will not be considered improper

adoration is what I feel for your magical art

after graduation I shall give you a special offer

a pet name you need for your subtle soul

Princess of potions I name thee

Lady Mandrake could be your name on our role

If ours you will be.

The third letter then emitted a soft 'poof' sound before disappearing in a cloud of purplish green smoke. Lillian noticed during reading the first letter that if one took the first letter from each line it gave a different message: Will You Join us? The second letter had a secret message as well, the second letter of each line spelled out Beatrice false friend. Lillian did not see any hidden message in the third letter. She walked over to the stall that Myrtle haunted and said in the direction of the bowl "Bye Myrtle, have a good afternoon", the only reply that came back were several bubbles.

Lillian headed back to the Ravenclaw tower and finished packing for the holiday. She then headed down to the Ravenclaw common room to wait for the arrival of her parents. At ten minutes until nine the Ravenclaw door opened and Professor Flitwick entered with Hagrid and Snape following.

"Morning, We went over to Gringotts and changed out money for us all, I'm giving you what the muggles refer to as two hundred squid. I've already given yer father five hundred squid as the muggles say," Hagrid said smiling.

"It's quid, mommy, five hundred quid, squid are something else. Father, did you acquire the muggle clothing I suggested?" Lillian asked.

"The outfit from the muggle fashion magazine? Regretfully yes. They were shipped to a post exchange run by Gringott's I already received and sorted them out. I am planning to visit a place called Harrod's, I've heard that it's what one does with a family in the muggle world," said Snape.

"I'll carry yer trunk" said Hagrid as he picked up her trunk. The lid wasn't fully shut and Luther hopped out and onto Severus's head, sitting there and croaking for a moment before he changed colour. The majority of his body matched exactly to Snapes hair, but there was an oddly bow shaped part of Luther's current colouring that was a bright pink. Lillian suppressed the urge to giggle. Severus reached up and picked Luther up off his head and handed his to Lillian with a tight lipped glare at the toad. Lillian could tell by the look in his eyes he was remembering the recipes he had for frog legs.

The trio the walked out of the tower and down to the main entrance of the castle. There were many students lining up to head out and back home to their families for the holidays. A Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff started shoving each other over who was where in the line before they noticed Professor Snape walk up to them and deduct ten points from each of them for rough housing. They stopped immediately and behaved themselves from then on. Soon they were out the door and trudging through the snow and through the main gate, officially off of school grounds.

There was a carriage was waiting for them in the snow just outside the main gates. The carriage had a pair of thestrals tethered to the front of the all black carriage. The carriage had plush dark red velvet seats and brass lamps in front of it. Severus opened the door for Lillian and a set of steps folded down for her. After she was in Hagrid wedged himself into the carriage and for a moment was stuck in the doorway. In the war between the unstoppable force of Hagrid and the immovable object of the door frame a glass window cracked, releasing pressure and allowing the half giant to slide in. Severus glared at Hagrid and said "This carriage was borrowed!" before tapping the window with his wand while saying repairo. Severus then climbed into the carriage and shut the door.

They quickly got under way with Severus reminding Lillian that she wouldn't be able to do magic until they returned. Severus then took a vinyl record out and an antique Victrolla, and began playing orchestral music. After driving a few feet along the ground the carriage picked up speed and lifted off and the lamps at the front began emitting massive volumes of smoke wrapping the carriage in a fast moving cloud. They were able to see clearly through the fog to the outside but any muggle who glanced up would only see a rather fast moving cloud. Lillian loved the sight of all the snow and couldn't help but spend most of the trip staring down. Severus and Hagrid were for once getting along as they discussed a new type of mushroom that had been spotted in the forbidden forest and its usefulness in the treatment of magical injuries. In a few hours they had arrived in a rather run down small town made of many industrial looking brick buildings, the carriage began circling one specific building and descending, landing on the street with a thump before stopping in front of the house they had been circling. Severus open the carriage door and the steps fell into place, he stepped out into the black slush covered streets and turned around to face the carriage before saying to Lillian and Hagrid "Welcome to Spinner's End!" said Snape.

Soon they were inside the house with Lillian getting comfortable in Severus's old bedroom, Snape took the master bedroom and Hagrid had the couch, which Snape reinforced and enlarged with a spell. There were no house elves living here so everything was done by hand or with Snapes wand (Hagrid didn't dare use his umbrella in Snapes presence). The house had many books lining the shelves and much dust lining the books. Every corner of the ceiling had several layers of cobwebs and a few spiders that had died of starvation years ago. Dust bunnies roamed under furniture in packs searching for fallen hairs to add to their mass. Lillian and Hagrid began tidying the place while Severus went into the kitchen and brewed some tea. By the time Severus returned the living room was spotless with Lillian and Hagrid discussing where to put the Christmas tree. Severus's only objection was to Lillian's request of hanging a wreath on the door.

"It will make the home look like a home with a happy family" said Lillian

"That is the problem, my dear. The last impression I wish to make in this neighbourhood is that this is a 'welcoming' home" replied Snape.

Soon the Christmas tree was up, its roots burrowing deep through the floor and into the ground below the house and it was decorated with a dark theme, the ornaments were glass balls in black, silver, purple and green. There were a few live pixies in little Santa suits roaming around the tree, often making rude gestures at anyone they caught looking in their direction. A number of ornaments shaped like miniature brooms, wands, cauldrons, and books graced the branches of the tree. There were school and house crest ornaments with Slytherin and Ravenclaw displayed prominently, while Gryffindor was slightly hidden in the back and Hufflepuff was found a week later near the trunk of the tree having been heavily chewed by the pixies. The tree topper was a ice crystal shaped like a star that glowed of its own accord. The one item that was not found on the trees was tinsel, Professor Snape complained that it made too much of a mess and it reminded Hagrid of unicorn blood. The tree decorating took the rest of the day, by the time it was done all three of them were exhausted. Dinner was made by Hagrid that night and consisted of vegetable beef soup and a roast beef with cheddar sandwich. Hagrid was an excellent cook when it came to simple pub style foods and tonight's dinner, while humble, was wonderful, even Professor Snape complimented it in his own way.

"It doesn't smell poisonous" Severus said while taking a spoonful of soup.

Hagrid rolled his eyes and tucked back in. Soon they were all off to bed, sleeping soundlessly until the break of dawn. Lillian was the first one up and downstairs, she sat near a window for an hour simply admiring the crisp clean unbroken snow gracing the yard. Lillian loved snow, she could spend hours in meditative bliss just admiring the snow and ice circles. She soon started making breakfast, eggs, bacon, and toast. She found a few preserves in the pantry that had not gone off, one of which was fig, something she knew Snape secretly loved. She also found a peach preserve that looked tasty to her and a red pepper preserve that would be interesting to Hagrid. She made tea as best she could, she didn't have all the right ingredients to make the goblins tea she had learned from Aberforth but she still knew how to heat and steep to perfection, the scent of her brew drew Hagrid out of a deep sleep. Severus soon came downstairs and was noticeably shocked to see such a breakfast ready and waiting.

"I had no idea that you had such...skills. Is this what you spent doing in the Hog's Head this summer?" asked Severus with irritation.

"I enjoy cooking, father. It may not be the most glamorous or magical thing to do, but its not that dissimilar to potion making," Lillian said with a smile.

Severus sighed and replied "you are far too talented to be playing with such muggle crafts"

"There ain't nothing wrong with cooking Professor. I've known many witch and wizard that were quite happy with domestic arts, some of the best restaurants in the world are secretly run by magic," said Hagrid.

"MY daughter is not going to waste her life as someone's maid! Her mind and talents are too precious!" snapped Snape.

"YOUR daughter? She's my daughter too, and if she wants to be a chef that's her business!" bellowed Hagrid.

"PLEASE! STOP FIGHTING!" yelled Lillian. "I just wanted to make breakfast for you two! I'M NOT PLANNING ON MAKIN A CAREER OUT OF IT!" Lillian the stormed out of the room and up the stairs to her bedroom, slamming the door closed.

Both men were sat in silence for the next half hour, the breakfast went cold and untouched. Finally Severus turned to Rubeus and said "I just want what's best for her, my mother led an unfortunate life after she graduated, I don't want to see someone with such a rare gift go through that,"

"Yeah, me too, but we got to take into account what she wants too otherwise it's just as miserable," replied Hagrid

"What?" said Snape, a confused look on his face.

"Look, being stuck with a bad choice only limits you if you let it. If she chooses to go into research or medicine she'd be wealthy and maybe famous, but that don't make yeh happy. She's gotta find her bliss her own way, no matter what we think or want," said Hagrid.

"That may have been the wisest thing I've ever heard from you. Let's go check on her," said Snape. Hagrid followed him upstairs to Lillian's room and opened the door to a room that was missing its human occupant. There was a note on her bed that just said 'gone' in a twitchy handwriting, and the window was still slightly open.

Chapter 13 misery loves company

"She couldn't have gotten far," said Hagrid. Severus was looking for tracks in the snow and seeing nothing. Hagrid knew that this would be futile, they'd spent hours in the forbidden forest with him teaching her all about tracks and how to not leave them. They were fairly certain that she had scaled the roof and down the side of the house, there were traces of elf resin on the house.

"Maybe she called the knight bus, we could call them and see if she's still aboard," said Hagrid

"It only works when a witch or wizard is stranded, neither of us are," said Snape with a roll of the eyes.

"What if you kicked me out, I'd be stranded then, wouldn't I?" asked Hagrid.

"Why yes, you would," Snape said with a wicked grin "This should be fun. Hagrid, you are an oaf and officially banned from my house," Shouted Snape. "Now hold up your umbrella"

Hagrid did so and then there was a loud bang as the Knight bus appeared on the street. The bus rolled to a stop next to Hagrid and its doors opened. "Evening gentlemen are we a bit lost?" said the driver.

"Er, no not really, my daughter's run away and I wonder if she might be on board. She's tall fer her age, long dark hair, kinda pale," said Hagrid.

"Oh, yeah, you mean Lillian?" Said the driver.

"She's here?" asked Hagrid excitedly

"Nah, dropped her off outside the leaky cauldron five minutes ago. She didn't go in though, hopped a muggle bus that was in the area," replied the driver.

"Okay, thank you" Hagrid said to the bus driver. He turned and began walking towards Snape

"Do you not need a ride?" asked the bus driver, a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Er- no, but thank you," Hagrid said with a friendly smile.

The driver slammed the bus door closed and the bus jerked into motion quickly, disappearing from sight within a few moments.

Snape looked to Hagrid and said "I think one of us should try to find where she went and one of us should stay here,"

"I agree, I know how to track a person, you stay here," said Hagrid

"Normally I'd agree to that, but I believe your abilities inside an urban setting are quite...limited. Besides, I can Apperate, you can not," Snape said, a moment before disappearing with a pop.

"Fine, I'll wait in the house," Hagrid said to the empty side walk. He walked over to the house door and tried to turn the knob but found it wouldn't turn in his hand. "Ruddy hell! Snape kicked me out and now the house won't let me in. All right door, you'd best open before I have to bust you down," Hagrid said to the door. The door responded by sprouting six inch long iron spikes that appeared to be oozing a greenish venom. A roll of razor wire began creeping up the doors frame and the walkway leading up to the home turned into a path of glowing red coals, which Hagrid had to quickly jump off of. Similar defensive measures appeared on the windows, and then the house started shouting 'THIEF!' and 'VANDAL' at Hagrid. Hagrid went and sat down on the curb and sighed heavily. The snow near the walkway began melting and forming a small dark and malevolent looking cloud.

Snape apparated outside the Leaky cauldron and began looking around the area. He didn't see any obvious signs of Lillian, just some litter on the street. He said to the street "give me a sign as to where she went,". A gust of wind came along kicking up the litter and an advertisement for a London Goth club flew up and stuck to Severus's face, it was featuring a band called 'Lily's Revenge' and advertising itself as being a free show. Snape apparated out of the area and into the alley next to the club before he went into the club and saw a large group of muggles in their twenties dressed completely in black with make up that made them appear more pallid. Many of them had either a cigarette or a drink in their hand, the air was thick with a cloud of cloves, frankincense and myrrh. The band on stage was dressed similarly except the lead singer had black hair down to her knees with a grey streak on one side and wore a white silk dress. She had a bat shaped pendant around her neck and had what appeared to be a dagger sticking out of her chest, blood around the wound. The dagger did not affect her singing as she continued wailing into the microphone as the guitars blared with more volume than talent and the drums were hit by a drummer who seemed to be having a seizure. The bartender did confirm that a girl fitting her description had been there but most of the women and some of the men there could fit Lillian's description. Snape left after not seeing Lillian anywhere around. Snape looked around while on the street for any other place she may have gone and then saw her, leaning on the rail along the river Thames. She was just looking out over the river in silent contemplation while the snow fell on and around her. Severus approached her and stood next to her on the bridge looking out over the river.

"I like the silence," she said to him. "I like the small moments of quiet contemplation where there is just me and a peaceful world around me"

"Your mother and I are not good with peace, especially around each other. We each have very strong wills but different ideas as to what's best for you. I am sorry for my snap judgment of you this morning. You do have a brilliant mind and I know you will do well in life. I just...find it difficult to not-" stammered Snape.

"Father, it's okay, you don't have to say anything. I am sorry for running off but I just needed some space," Lillian stated.

"Okay. I cannot honestly say that I'm not angry, but I'm sure you are too. Let's leave our anger here and go back home," replied Snape.

"That suits me fine," said Lillian as she turned and took Snapes hand. They did a side along apparation and were back to Spinner's end with a small pop. They saw Hagrid, sitting on the curb, umbrella open and over his head while a miniature black rain cloud hovered above him, attempting to wash him away with its down pour.

"Ah, I see you've met the house defences. I created them myself," Snape said with a chuckle.

"Yeah well, I'd appreciate it if you told yer house that I'm not a thief or vandal," Hagrid replied

"Certainly, Hagrid, you are officially invited in and welcome to my home," Severus said with a sneer. The houses defences dissipated upon these words and the door opened with ease.

Once they were inside there was a simultaneous rumbling of three separate stomachs, as it was getting late and none of them had eaten anything today. Snape offered to cook, making frog legs stewed in nettles. The dinner concluded with a fine bottle of sherry split between the three of them. The alcohol of the sherry had no effect on Lillian, but it did get Severus giggling like a school girl and Hagrid very chummy.

"Whatdaya call thisstuff again professser? amantiedo? Amarillo? Armadillo?" asked Hagrid with rosy cheeks.

"Amontillado, my good mum," Severus said in between giggling fits. "it's a Spanish sherry from a small town in southern Spain. The cheap stuff is awful, but to good stuff is- well, let just say some men have died over it," Severus said with a nostalgic grin.

"Good night you two" Lillian said, slightly embarrassed by the sight of her two parents. Half way up the stairs she called them both ruddy sots under her breath.

Chapter 14 Given and earned

She changed into her nightclothes and climbed into bed, nudging Luther over. She was amazed that a toad could sprawl out enough to make it difficult for her to get in bed without moving him. He climbed up next to her bosom for warmth and she stroked his little toady head. She saw a shift in the light coming through her window and looked over to see Lord Monkshood sitting outside the window on a broom. He waved at her and she climbed out of bed and opened the window.

"How long have you been out there?" asked Lillian.

"Just arrived, Don't worry, I didn't watch you changing clothes or anything," he said while sipping from a wine goblet. "Would you care for a drink?" Lord Monkshood said with a smirk.

"No thank you. What are you doing here?" Lillian asked with suspicion.

"I just wanted to give you a Christmas present. It's a formula actually. I've just figured out a method of manufacturing invisibility cloaks, and I want you to have the formula," he said, handing her a parchment. "It's simple really, it mostly involves feeding thestral blood to young acromantulas. The webbing they spin turns invisible after two weeks of feeding's, the webbing can then be spun into a silk like fabric. This formula could make one fairly wealthy if they used it. I also want to give you a small bottle of what is commonly referred to as fairy dust. It will allow you to magically enhance muggle items without getting you in trouble for under-age magic,"

"Thank you but I'm afraid I don't have anything for you," Lillian said.

"Well, how about a single kiss?" Lord Monkshood suggested

"Okay," Lillian said in a moment of naivete.

She closed her eyes and offered her cheek to him, and felt his lips pressing against hers. For a moment she considered objecting but the pleasure she felt overrode her sense of decorum. She was kissing back, not like the first time with Nicholas Duncan, this was passion, there was heat filling her senses. It lasted for a few seconds before he pulled away saying "don't be greedy, there will be more where that came from; in all due time," he said, chuckling as he flew off into the night. She crawled back into bed, scooted Luther over again, and lay down, unsure of whether what she had was a dream, a sherry induced hallucination, or love. She spent the rest of the night having dreams of riding a large powerful white stallion over rough terrain.

She woke up the next morning and changed clothes before heading downstairs. Snape had already cooked a breakfast of scrambled vulture eggs, wild boar bacon, and burnt toast with yak butter. Hagrid was hungrily wolfing down a second helping, covered in ketchup.

"Good morning Lillian. Yer dad's made a real great breakfast, come eat," replied Hagrid between mouthfuls.

"Good morning everyone," Lillian said.

"Normally I would go for a simple oatmeal, but once in a while an indulgence is nice," said Snape as he sat down at the table.

Lillian sat and ate with her parents, and asked "do we have any plans for today?"

Snape, replied with "I will be visiting Diagon Alley to obtain components for...research"

"Ah," Lillian replied with some sadness. "So, just me and you today mummy?"

"Um, er- unfortunately I have to run back up to Hogwarts and check on somethin'. I shouldn't be gone for more than a day or two," Hagrid said, wiping his beard of egg residue.

"I see," said Lillian as she finished her breakfast.

"I believe you wanted to go to some muggle shopping facility, Lillian? I could escort you there and walk you home on my way back," offered Snape.

"Well, yes, I thought we could go to Harrod's, as a-" Lillian said

"Good, we'll leave in a few minutes," said Snape as he stood up. Snape tapped the table with his wand, clearing off all the uneaten food and dirty dishes. He then headed upstairs to the master bedroom and closed the door. Hagrid stood up as well and scooted his chair in before heading to the water closet.

Lillian sat at the table and thought to herself this really isn't a family, it's two men and their obligation-me

Hagrid was soon out the door, with a brief hug for his daughter. Snape caught a muggle bus with her to Harrod's before heading to the Leaky Cauldron via Apperation. Lillian suppressed the urge to be angry, instead she went through the day, being as chipper and happy on the outside as she wished she was on the inside.

She stood outside Harrod's admiring the Christmas décor before heading in. The lights were not on since it was daytime but the beauty and majesty was still evident. Lillian entered and stared in wonder at the shops inside. She was also being stared at by passing muggles, wondering who dressed this child and where her parents were. Since arriving at Spinners End Lillian had started dressing in clothes that Severus had acquired for her, lots of frills and lace with a Victorian feel. Most of her clothes were in dark some colours with shiny silver clasps and buckles. She enjoyed the wardrobe and felt very comfortable but knew it wasn't what most muggles her age wore (at least while shopping at Harrod's). As she walked about she tried thinking about the products she saw and how Severus and Rubeus would react if they received such items. Hagrid was relatively easy to shop for and Lillian quickly found something perfect, a strawberry and red pepper preserve. A lady was offering samples of it to the crowd and the few who could get over the unusual idea of it thought it tasted sweet and spicy. The lady winked at Lillian and as soon as the crowd of muggles died down she whispered to her "I bet you go to Hogwarts, don't you?" she said.

"Um, yes, I do, how did you know?" replied Lillian.

"Oh I just had a feeling about you,"said the sales lady excitedly.

"Do you work here?" asked Lillian.

"Oh no, not really, I'm covering for my twin sister who's home sick with the flu. Poor dear is a squib, it's a shame really. She understands magic and our world but doesn't have a bit o power. She doesn't understand the muggle world well enough to do more than give out samples here. Shoppin for anyone special?" said the sales lady.

"Oh yes, my mum and dad. I think my mum would like this preserve, she loves strawberries," replied Lillian.

"How sweet. I got a special jar of this preserve, its got an extra bit of kick for our kind, if you know what I mean," said the sales lady with a wink.

"I think that would be perfect!" said Lillian.

The sample lady gave a bit to Lillian and told her about it. It was made locally and Lillian thought it had a wonderful summery flavour. She bought it and a box of biscuits to go with it. She then went to the jeweler and purchased a locket. She had the jeweler put the initials SS on the locket in a scrolling serpentine pattern before heading off to the Photographer. She asked the photographer to make a photo of her small enough to fit in the locket which he said he'd be happy to do, but that he only had one camera capable of that sort of work and it only worked half of the time. He set up the camera and was very rough with it. He kicked it and then said he needed a specific type of film from the back room and asked Lillian to sit on a stool in front of the camera. While he was getting the film Lillian sprinkled some of the fairy dust given to her by Lord Monkshood on the camera. It shook for a moment and she was worried that that was the only thing it would do, but then the camera winked at her and resumed looking inanimate. The photographer came back and loaded the film into the camera roughly and it kicked him, although he assumed the leg just slipped and hit him. He took the photo and then developed the film, cutting the image to the right size and shape for the locket and gluing it in place. When the image of Lillian began smiling and waving at him he assumed that he'd just inhaled too much of the developing chemicals and took the locket out to Lillian handing it to her closed. She thanked him and paid him a little extra for his efforts before leaving. Two minutes later she heard shouting from the photographer's studio and shortly afterwards the camera galloped past her, down the escalator and out the front door with the photographer running after it. She headed down the escalator and outside, sitting down on a bench near the entrance to wait for her father, who arrived about half an hour later.

"Hello father," she said as he arrived.

"I don't supposed you know anything about a bewitched muggle camera in the area, do you?" he said as he sat down next to her.

"I did see a camera running about on its own a half hour ago," she replied demurely.

"Ministry officials are looking into it. Apparently the camera ran out into the road in the path of an oncoming bus and was destroyed. If it hadn't been the ministry could have used it to look at whoever added fairy powder to it. The laws regarding bewitching muggle items are very strict and the punishments are quite severe," he said. Snape then whispered into her ear "I'm not going to punish you this time my dear, but you must be more careful in the future. Let's head home," he said, standing up. She stood up and followed him to a cab that had arrived. Lillian was pleased to see Nigel, the cab driver once again, his co-pilot the iguana was wearing a red fez today and smoking a clay pipe.

"Hello Nigel. Take us to Spinners End please," she said handing him five silver sickles.

Snape looked shocked that someone of the wizarding world would be driving a muggle contraption for a career. They arrived quickly and were back inside the house. Lillian placed the presents under the tree, next to several others that had mysteriously sprang up while everyone was gone, two looked as if they had been attacked with wrapping paper and ribbon, while the other two were wrapped with a pristine precision. She walked over to her father and asked how one studies magic or does homework when in the muggle world.

"This is why the majority of holiday homework is written and research rather than practicum. I believe at Drumstrang students are encouraged to spend the holiday on campus rather than going home, affording them a greater chance at the more practical aspects of magic. However, I will let you in on a secret that technically I am not supposed to know. I only discovered this a few hours earlier today. Due to your rather...unique... birth the Ministry wasn't able to properly place a trace on you that lasted more than a few hours. This is why you have been ineptly followed by the Ministry for so long. Even now there are two Ministry officials watching this house and occasionally casting charms that would pick up on any magical residue. As long as you only practice with me, following my motions precisely, in my direct presence, they will be unable to tell your magic from my own. You must not reveal this to your mother or anyone else. Go get your wand," he said to her with a grin.

She jumped up with a smile and ran upstairs to her room, opening her dresser and retrieving the box she stored her wand in. Lillian ran back downstairs with wand in hand. They spent the afternoon practising transfigurations, transforming pillows into logs, and the logs into massive sausages, and then sausages into ribbons, and finally the ribbons into pillows. By the time the sun set Lillian was already transfiguring at a N.E.W.T. level of ability. Snape told her that tomorrow they would work on charms. The days passed with more practice, Hagrid had not returned yet but he did send a letter, apparently there was an outbreak of an odd flu like illness amongst the centaurs, who were blaming the disease on the thestrals that lived nearby. Three Thestrals had already been killed by angry Centaurs and Hagrid had to help settle things down while Madame Sprout and Madame Pomfrey were recalled to Hogwarts to help heal the sick.

Christmas eve arrived and there was a knock on the door. Snape opened the door to find Hagrid with a red ribbon on his head.

"Got good news, the Centaurs agreed to not attack the Thestrals without provocation, everyone's healing for the Holidays. Lillian, I'd like to give you your present now, she's right outside, come with me," He said holding the door open for her.

Lillian went outside with Severus following close behind. Standing outside was a thestral foal, with Albus Dumbledore holding its reigns. Severus was shocked to see the Headmaster there, snow falling on his long white hair.

"Headmaster, er, ah...Merry Christmas, would you care to come in for a drink?" asked Severus.

"Thank you Severus, but no. I'm just here to help Hagrid with the thestral," responded Dumbledore.

"Professor Dumbledore will be taking her back with him tonight," said Hagrid.

"I would like to make one thing clear Lillian. Under current Ministry laws thestrals cannot be owned by an individual. This thestral will be technically school property. She'll be taken care of everyday in the stables until you get back to school, when you will join the ranks of an elite group of handlers in taking care of the schools thestrals. Eventually this one may join the thestrals that pull the student carriages at the beginning of the year, but I do believe a short ride tonight would be okay," said Hagrid.

Lillian wrapped her arms around the thestrals neck and hugged it, the foal gently nuzzled her. She walked over to its side, one hand feeling along its spine and climbed onto its back.

"Doe she have a name yet?" asked Lillian

"No Lillian, you get to name her," replied Albus

"Polaris then," Lillian announced with a giggle.

Dumbledore smiled at patted Polaris on the snout, handing the reigns over to Lillian. Lillian and Polaris trotted up the street and back, Polaris spread her wings and flapped them a few times but was still too young to take flight. They went up and down the street a few more times before they returned to the front of Spinners End and Lillian dismounted. She turned to the man she had always known as mummy and wrapped her arms around him and said thank you through tears of joy. They re-entered the house, Albus said good night and wished them all a merry Christmas before apparating away, thestral in tow.

Severus walked over to Lillian and smiled slightly. He held a present up to her saying "It's not a live creature, but I hope it will be loved," Lillian opened the present and discovered a pair of black suede boots. They had a magical feel to them but Lillian wasn't sure what they did until one of them slipped out of her grasp falling to the floor without a sound. They were magic boots in that they allowed one to walk without the sound of footsteps. Lillian looked at Severus with some confusion, why would he give her something that was practically meant for sneaking about and getting into trouble.

"While these boots would appear to be destined for misuse they do have two additional abilities that, I believe, are more important and you will find highly advantageous. First they adjust themselves to your foot size, so they will always fit, no matter what size you need. Second they enhance your natural balance and agility, allowing for a cat like grace. Please try them," said Severus. Lillian slipped them on and they tighten around her feet and calves for a moment before relaxing. They were a perfect fit, Lillian stood up in them and walked around the room soundlessly, not tripping over a single piece of furniture, not even the chair that stuck a leg out to trip anyone who walked past it. She spent the next two hours going from room to room not tripping on furniture and sneaking up on Hagrid. She slept soundly that night dreaming of walking about on rooftops and sneaking into buildings, walking through secret departments within the Ministry, reading their research and obtaining classified magical items, giving them to Lord Monkshood before returning to her bedroom. She woke up feeling quite spent.

The next day Severus was up bright and early, better dressed than Lillian had ever seen. They ate breakfast that Hagrid had prepared, a dozen eggs over easy with rashers of bacon and toast with beans. Today was the day that Severus was taking Lillian to meet the Malfoys and Hagrid was not too pleased. He kept muttering about the dangers of Death Eaters and that a lack of a conviction didn't make them good people. Snape was being fussy about Lillian's posture and suggested three different outfits for her to wear, all of which were unsatisfactory after she had them on. She finally picked out a long black dress with lacy webbing for sleeves, did her hair up in a tight little bun, applied very light make up that gave her pallid skin an even lighter appearance. She wore her cats grace boots and told her father that this was what she would be wearing if he wanted her to go at all. He responded by rolling his eyes and said "fine".

Their visit lasted only a few hours. They did a side-along apparation to the side walk in front of the Malfoys Manor. Lillian felt the Malfoys were far too snooty for her tastes but she was polite. Their son, Draco, was an absolute brat who spent most of his time crying and throwing whatever he could get his hands on, Lillian got hit with his toys and sippy cup on several occasions. The Malfoys cut the visit short due to an unexpected dinner invite from a Ministry Official. Severus was irritable for the rest of the evening, muttering under his breath about 'inconsiderate snobs'. They apparated back home and had a light dinner before Severus turned in early for the evening.

The next week passed slowly, Hagrid went back to the castle to begin preparing for the students return, Severus and Lillian spent several hours a day working on transfigurations, charms, and potions with occasional pop quizzes in history. The day to head back to school finally arrived; Lillian was up, packed, and ready before the sun rose. The Coach that they had ridden in to get to Spinners End was back, waiting for them. Within a few minutes they were in the air and in a few hours they were back at Hogwarts. Argus Filch met them at the gate, taking Lillian's bags; Severus hugged her before going off to prepare his class room for classes.

"Did you have a good holiday Miss Lillian?" Argus asked

"Yes, quite delightful, thank you for asking," Lillian said. They walked to the castle through the snow, hearing a chorus of ravens cawing from the forbidden forest. Lillian smelled smoke in the air, it smelled like the blend of wood Hagrid preferred she thought, and sure enough, the smell was rising from the chimney in his hut. Lillian settled herself into her room in the Ravenclaw tower and pulled out her copy of Hogwarts, a History, discovering a note in it. When she opened the note she saw that it only had two words on it, Merry Christmas, and before she could close the letter the words dissolved into a glittering black powder which sprayed her in the face. It blinded, burned, and itched terribly, she screamed for help and fell to the ground, curling into a fetal position and alternating between screaming and sobbing. Soon several students stood around her, Rhiannon Browning ran to get Madam Pomfrey returning with her a few minutes later. Madam Pomfrey found residue of the powder and recognized it as something used in horrible practical jokes. It was often referred to as hair face. After the initial pain the affected area would sprout thick dark hair, Lillian's face was soon completely covered in a dark pelt. The condition was easily curable but often left some small amount of facial hair that would require routine removal. After the initial shock of what happened there were occasional giggles behind Lillian's back and the nickname of Hairy Lil started floating around the school and Lillian became a social outcast.

Chapter 15 Grains of Sand

Lillian felt betrayed and abandoned by her friends. The only people that could have gotten into her room to place the letter in her book would have been someone who knew where the book was, someone let in by a Ravenclaw but she couldn't see anyone in Ravenclaw doing that to her, and it had to be a girl, boys would not have been able to come up the stairs. No one but Moaning Myrtle and Beatrice had a kind word for her for weeks on end. On top of that she felt more out of place amongst the first years than ever. Physically she looked like she was between sixteen and eighteen at this point. She had been told that her growth would more than likely stop near this point, but that didn't keep her feeling like less of a freak in a school full of those that most society would deem freaks. The majority of the students became highly occupied with Quidditch, a game that Lillian had no interest in and most of her fellow students ignored her at this point. Any time anyone asked her if she was going to the upcoming match she replied that she had better things to do, like cleaning the stables, which was true. She spent her free time in either the Library, the Stables with Polaris or in the Potions Laboratory, and students began calling her Miss Snape in addition to hairy.

One day during breakfast Beatrice came to Lillian asking her to join her after class to enjoy the spring. Beatrice told Lillian she had spent too much time inside and alone, sunshine and fresh air would do her a world of good. Lillian grudgingly accepted the invitation before heading off to class, noticing that Janice and Willow were watching Beatrice with rapt attention. Lillian assumed they were probably up to their old tricks again and that Beatrice would need assistance at some point in dealing with those two again. The day felt slow but Lillian didn't care, she was further ahead in her classes than any other student and had no fear of what the rest of the year would bring, it was just a matter of flowing through each day until the end of the school year, and hopefully she'd spend the summer in the Hog's Head again. After classes she went outside down to the shore where Beatrice had suggested, Beatrice was there and had laid out a blanket on the ground, she had a picnic basket and several bottles of butter beer sitting there.

"I haven't seen much of you since before Christmas, I've missed you," said Beatrice, a friendly smile on her lips. She was looking quite healthy, no longer emaciated she had a bit of muscle tone in her arms and calves. The tan she had at the beginning of the school year was largely faded and her natural light brown hair colour had completely replaced her formerly bleached out hair. She stood up and hugged Lillian and they sat down. They talked about Christmas, Lillian only referring to her parents as mummy and daddy. She told Beatrice that her daddy worked in the Potions industry and her Mummy often dealt with Animals. They had a picnic dinner of two whole roasted chickens which Lillian ate a frightening amount of and roast vegetables on the blanket and watched the sunset savouring their butter beers in the twilight, before walking back to the castle holding hands. They entered the castle and Filch, who was standing next to the door reminded them that they were supposed to be in before dark but that he wouldn't say anything to anyone this time. They hugged again and parted, heading for their separate towers. When Lillian got back to her room she got ready for bed, and noticed that there was a letter in her pocket that hadn't been there earlier. It had writing on its outside that said 'from Beatrice' she recognized the writing as Beatrice's but was still very cautious about opening it. She put on a pair of gloves that Severus had given her for handling dangerous mushrooms and particularly potent potions and Lillian held it away from herself while opening it. She waited a few moments and when nothing shot out she turned it over and read it.

Please destroy this letter after you are done reading it. I believe that Janice is responsible for the hair face letter. I believe that she used a house elf from her home to introduce the letter to your room. I cannot prove any of this yet, but be careful, she will try to hurt you again. Many years ago I did something that I am not proud of and Janice knows about it-she has some control over me and I cannot go directly against her, but I will help you in anyway I can, Lillian finished reading the letter and held it to a candle flame, it caught fire and was gone forever within a moment. What could Beatrice have done that it would still haunt her and why can't she go to her parents about it? How can I stop Janice and not have Beatrice hurt in the process? How much does Willow know? Questions rolled through her head like dice in a role-playing game, she explored every side and angle she could think of, and she thought deeply. This was one time that her knowledge and skills acquired from Severus and Hagrid were not helping her in the slightest. She sat at the window to her room, watching the stars and the night sky. Wishing for a knight in magical armour to come swooping in on flying steed brandishing a sword of truth for all the world to see. "I wonder..." she said aloud, before grabbing parchment and ink pot to start a letter.

Sweetness,

After your last missive much has happened. Vexed was I upon my return as you may have heard. Everyone has turned from me except the subject of your second letter, But can I truly trust her? Everything that I read would say no, but can she be re-evaluated? A confession was given to me without specifics. The puppet wants to aid me but worries about her strings. Remember what you asked of me? I can say with certainty that if you can give more information you will fan the flame of desire to ascend to your request. Can her secret come out without her being destroyed in the process? Everything I know and hope is laid before you, I hope to hear from you soon. I would like to help her resolve her problem without her coming to any harm, and I would also like to resolve those using her without the aforementioned caveat.

She looked at the letter for a moment before signing it 'Lady Mandrake'. She folded the letter and slipped on the boots her father had given her and her darkest cloak before heading to the Owlery. She fetched an owl that she knew was one of the best at finding a person without having an exact address and told it to take it to Lord Monkshood. The owl looked at her for a moment before hooting and taking off, letter secured to its leg. She then headed back to bed, walking right behind Filch for several corridors without him knowing. She got undressed and when to bed, hoping she hadn't just sat herself down in a dragons mouth with that letter. She slept peacefully, dreaming of fish in fancy wizarding robes dancing their way though a great whirlpool.

When she woke in the morning there was a single long stem red rose and a sprig of Aconitum sitting on her windowsill on top of an envelope. She knew that there was only one who would dare to do that and grabbed the letter, tearing the envelope open roughly. There were two letters inside and a sketch, the sketch was of her in the dress she wore to the dinner held by The Nightshade Society the level of detail was impressive, especially since it was from memory. The first letter contained no coded messages, it was simply a reproach. The second one looked blank but she noticed a few letters darkening near where she held it, she had heard of ink like this, it was heat reactive, she breathed on the paper and the message appeared, it would disappear again when it got cold, and could be removed permanently if the paper were rubbed with ice.

Dearest

Flattery will get you everywhere, including places you may not truly be ready for. Do not offer yourself so freely unless you are really and truly ready for the consequences, and do not play childish games, you are better than that.

M

Lady Mandrake

Your friend made a poor choice in her youth to listen to those who were her friends until recently, and although in truth she was goaded into the action it did result in a muggle being seriously injured, to the point where if she had been an adult her wand would have been taken away and destroyed. Her parents also have a dark past, they did serve He Who Shall Not Be Named along with the parents of her former friends, and all three sets of parents keep each other in check with the knowledge of what each other did in those dark years. That being stated the ministry is very aware of what happened when she was a child and has a file open about her parents and their associates. The Ministry will not seek legal charges against her at this point, it is only her own fear that keeps the puppet strings in place. You can rest assured that our group is going to take the pressure off of her parents and will give her former friends something more important to worry about. As to her personal situation, we will do what we can, but ultimately she will need to free herself from the chains that bind her. You can help her and further empower her by being there for her as a friend. We have reassessed her and have every confidence that she no longer seeks to ruin you.

The Nightshade Society.

She set the letter down and watched the ink fade without her body heat to warm it. She folded it and put it in her bag, She dressed and headed for the great hall for breakfast, emptying a glass of ice water and inserting the letter into the glass before pouring the ice back in. The ink darkened briefly before dissolving and dripping off the paper. She ate quickly, slightly sloppily, egg yolk dribbling down her chin and getting ketchup in the very fine hairs under her lip. Must ask McGonagall if she can show me anything to get rid of that permanently, she thought on the way to transfigurations class. She found out from Professor McGonagall after class that Madam Pomfrey had tried several charms and incantations to get it permanently gone, but a very fine moustache was the best that she had been able to accomplish. McGonagall did offer to show her muggle waxing techniques that she knew of that could help. Lillian sighed and thought Oh well, I should have suspected something like this with mums heritage, at least I don't have a beard.

Three days passed since the Nightshade Societies response came before she saw or rather heard the results. Lillian had been sitting outside in the shade of an oak tree reading a book on magical fungi and closed the book, having finished reading it when a pair of carriages with Ministry markings pulled up. A man wearing a very regal robe and holding a scroll stepped out of one carriage followed by four large men. Dumbledore appeared at the doorway a moment after the Ministry official arrived and they talked for a few moments before Dumbledore ushered all five men in. Less than ten minutes later they left the main door with Willow and Janice as well as all of their possessions in tow. Willow shot a look of pure hate at Lillian as she was shoved roughly into the carriage. Lillian headed up to the Raven Claw tower to retrieve a treatise she had on goblin crowns and an apple. Beatrice arrived at the door to the Ravenclaw tower as Lillian was half way through her apple, knocking for nearly ten minutes before someone came opened the door to tell her that by now she should know which tower was Gryffindor and which was Ravenclaw before the door was nearly slammed in her face. Rhiannon Browning noticed who was at the door and asked Beatrice to wait while she got Lillian. Lillian came down and met Beatrice who was near bursting with excitement.

"They've been arrested!" Shouted Beatrice.

"Who has Bea?" asked Lillian.

"Both Janice's and Willow's Parents! The Ministry didn't arrest MY parents, but asked them to testify for the prosecution! I can't give any details but some new information came to light- and well, my parents no longer are under anyone's control. The Ministry is even offering to protect them until the trial! Janice and Willow had to leave school! I'm FREE!"

Beatrice jumped forward wrapping her arms around Lillian in a celebratory hug that lasted for five minutes. They walked around the halls talking until Mister Filch warned them that it was getting late, they hugged again before heading off to their separate towers.

Lillian was noticeably distracted in class from that point on, sometimes sitting through class and doodling instead of paying attention, and she was given detention on more than one occasion. She didn't always come properly dressed either, sometimes she would forget a shoe or leave her hair completely not brushed. She was taken aside by Professor Flitwick and warned that if she didn't straighten up she could cost Ravenclaw house points

"I'm sorry Professor, but I have nothing to do outside of waiting for the end of the term. I need something to focus on," She said.

"Sometimes part of the learning process involves more patience than what we feel we have. Instead of ignoring the class, show what you know," he said in an excitedly high voice before dismissing her.

Lillian wandered down to Professor Snape's office knocking on his door.

"Enter" came from behind the door.

She came in and Snape gave the briefest smile before asking if he could help her. He had a stack of scrolls on his desk and was reading through one while marking on it with a red quill.

"Grading papers?" Lillian asked

"Yes, another Gryffindor is drawing closer and closer to the grade of Troll. I assume you came to discuss your recent difficulties with focusing on your lectures? I've heard you are having the same issue in all of your classes as of late. Many of your professors are finding this difficult to take as anything but blatant disrespect," he said, marking a large red T on the top of the scroll before starting on another one.

"I know, and I'm very sorry for that. I don't know what to do father. I've completed my classwork in every class for the year. I have nothing to do until the end of term. Professor Flitwick suggested showing off or something like that, he's difficult to understand when he gets excited and squeaky," she said sighing.

"Unfortunately there is little I can do to help you. If you want I can assign a special research project for you, which will allow you to not go to class, and I could suggest such to the other professors, but outside of that you must simply be more conscientious of how you are perceived," he said without glancing up from the homework he was grading.

"Thank you Professor. I believe that would be ideal," she replied

"I will expect a scroll of no less than two feet describing what topic you wish to research and how you intend to study said subject by this time tomorrow. You will be expected to report in at least once a week, and I am likely to confirm your whereabouts with other staff, so if you say that you will be somewhere, make sure you are there, and not sneaking about the castle, do I make myself clear?" he asked, looking up at her with a razor sharp glance that spoke volumes on how serious he was.

"Yes Sir," she replied

"Dismissed," responded Professor Snap

She rose and left his office, making her way to the great hall for dinner. She had a fairly light (for her) dinner of smoked kippers, baked beans with toast, and tea. The tea was nowhere near as satisfying as the goblins tea but it was a breakfast tea from Ireland that a second year Hufflepuff named Molly had offered her, and was a bit stronger than what most students drank. She thought for a while as to what she would research. She considered for a moment doing her paper on Goblins tea, but was afraid that would venture too close to the culinary and domestic use of magic that her father detested.

Professor Snape would want something to do with Potions, so perhaps research on a specific ingredient would be a suitable topic, research on Monkshood was appealing but Lillian feared it would be too common, a fear that a quick trip to the library confirmed, the only plant more researched seem to be mandrake. She thought back to the goblins tea which was rumoured to have dried dragons blood in it, and then to dragons-blood itself, but Headmaster Dumbledore had quite literally written the book on that subject. Dragons-blood was out, but maybe the blood of something else, she quickly scanned for research on the magical properties of other animal bloods, finding some on unicorn, but none on thestrals! She wouldn't be willing to harm Polaris, who was getting large and rambunctious, but she knew there were jars of thestral blood in the schools storage that were never used, they had been purchased by Professor Slughorn when he ran potions and had never been used, most people found the colour which was yellow near the surface and faded to black at the bottom almost as disturbing as the thick oiliness of the blood. Then there was the smell, which was described as what it would smell like if one were to try brewing tea with fish scales for tea bags and dung for tea leaves, but Lillian had read that if one suspended a thread of pure silver in the flame of a candle the odour would be nullified.

The next day shortly after breakfast Lillian spoke to Professor Snape and he agreed on her research topic. Professor McGonagall felt that a research project would not be appropriate for a first year in transfigurations class and told Lillian that she simply needed to pay more attention in class or she would get detentions. Professor Flitwick liked the research idea but insisted on picking the topic of proper and safe wand usage and care taking. Lillian nearly rolled her eyes at this idea of a topic, but at least it would be better than potential detention. In her Defence Against the Dark Arts class Professor Poof threatened to give her a detention for suggesting a research project and then ordered her to sprint back and forth while naming the fifty types of poison in alphabetical order. Madame Sprout told her she could do a paper on whatever plants she liked as long as she'd come by and tend plants at least twice a week.

Lillian fell into a routine that suited her well, she had breakfast as usual and then would go to the library for two hours on three days a week before heading to transfigurations class, where Professor McGonagall had become slightly more strict on the Ravenclaws as they drew closer to the end of the term. After these two classes she would go to lunch and head back to the library until it was time for Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Poof. The Professor had added cartwheels and somersaults to the normal running he expected which had caused some students to complain of the potential risk of injury, for which they received detentions and extra laps. The Professor told Lillian that he suspected her of leading this rebellion and he'd bring this up with Professor Dumbledore next time he saw the Headmaster if the complaints did not stop. She waited until he walked off to stick her tongue out at him. He spun around a moment before she did, saw her stick out her tongue and gave her a week's detention.

Research went smoothly; Lillian completed a four foot scroll on the proper care, handling, maintenance, safety, and storage of rods, staves, and wands. She felt like she wrote a manual on magical tools rather than a research paper but Professor Flitwick's instructions were clear; Lillian was to stick to established procedure rather than experimentation. She did learn what materials would make good sheaths for wands and what would not; she learned what oils to use and not use for cleaning and care and how not to rub the wand. She was fascinated by some arcane wand positions that involved the wand being held by parts other than the hand and filed this information away for later use.

Lillian wrote nearly twelve feet of the life cycle of the Mandrake plant for Professor Sprout some of which drew on her personal understanding of the Mandrake that helped make her who she was. She didn't have any special actual memories of being in the dirt but she could remember the sensations of being in the cool safe soil and the thirst of waiting for dew. She covered the conditions under which a mandrake would first grow, what it needed to be a healthy adult and diseases of root and leaf. She covered magical use in terms of potion and transfiguration in greater detail than Sprout would be interested in.

Lillian spent the majority of her time looking for anything related to thestrals finding very little. Most wizards who could see them seemed to not want to have anything to do with them.

She felt an odd sense of deja vu at this knock, and stopped brushing her hair mid-stroke, she stood and opened the door, finding Professor Dumbledore standing outside waiting, fingertips pressed together in front of his chest, smiling.

"May I come in?" the Headmaster asked.

"Yes, certainly Professor, please sit down," Lillian said. Lillian sat on her bed while Professor Dumbledore sat on a chair at the desk next to her bed.

"An idea was brought to me by Professor Flitwick, an idea regarding your future," he said

Lillian got very nervous, as if she were about to be led to a hangman's noose.

"Because of your physical maturity and intellectual capacity, the Professors and I feel that you should not start the beginning of the next year with the rest of the second years," he said. There was a long and heart wrenching pause, Lillian now felt like she was in the noose and the hangman's hand was on the lever, waiting to pull the release on the door under her feet. "We feel that you and the world at large would be better served if you were beginning alongside the fifth years at the start of the next term. The Ministry does not see eye to eye with us and a compromise has been arranged where you will be given a rather strict academic examination at the end of the term. If you pass you will begin the term with the fifth year students. If you do not pass, you will begin the next term with the second years. If you wish, you can decline testing and simply move on with the second years, I will leave that up to you," Dumbledore said. Lillian though for a moment and then asked "may I have a list of topics that may be covered on this examination?"

"To the best of my ability, yes, It will be waiting in the library for you when you get there tomorrow morning. The test will take place in the unused classroom on the south side of the third floor. The exam materials are chosen by the examiner, and you will have a different examiner for each subject, only half of the examiners will be your professors, the rest will be ministry officials, and while I can suggest materials for them to ask you about I cannot force them to go by school guidelines," He said. "Now I must ask you, do you wish to take this test?"

"Yes Headmaster, I will,"

With that he nodded, and informed her that her research projects were suspended until the following term and the list of topics would arrive before the morning. She would be excused from further classes until after the test and she was to go to the library everyday for studies. He stood, told her 'good night' and left. She squealed with delight and began jumping up and down for ten minutes before cartwheeling out of her room and down the stairs to the common room. There were others in the common room who soon crowded around her to find out what was going on. She told them and most of the students were quite pleased at her potential advancement. The only one who looked sad by this news was Rhiannon.

"I'm going to miss you," she said, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere dorkling! I'll still be a Ravenclaw, I'll still see you all the time," she said, brushing Rhiannon's golden hair back from her face.

"But it's not the same. Who's going to help me study?"

"You can study on your own, you just need to read your meticulously written notes. What do you think I was using to quiz you? You've got to be the best note taker I've ever seen," she said.

She received hugs from all her fellow Ravenclaw and a kiss on the lips from Nikki Duncan and her twin brother Nicholas. Nikki's kiss was little longer than Lillian was comfortable with and while Nicholas's kiss was just a peck on the lips his hand slid onto Lillian's bottom for just a moment before Lillian grabbed his wrist and moved his hand away. All of the Ravenclaw first years soon went off to their room staying up past their normal time giggling and chatting, at some point someone brought out a bottle of butter-beer and they shared it before finally turning in for the night.

Chapter 16 Vengeance

Lillian woke up then next morning before anyone else had, as was fairly normal for her. She went off to breakfast and had three soft boiled eggs, kippers, an apple, a serving of bubble and squeak and a glass of vegetable juice, finishing with a cup of black tea before belching loudly and heading off to the Library.

Her list of materials was waiting for her at the library. The list was roughly sixteen feet long and divided into two categories, must know and it would be a good idea to read up on, the first category took over half the length of the scroll in average sized letter. She took the scroll with her and her own quill and paper, she put a check mark next to the subjects she knew well enough to take a N.E.W.T.S. level test on (according to Professor Snape), which reduced the number of items to half of the must know and a quarter of the it would be a good idea to read up on. The subjects she had not encountered yet were underlined while those she had never heard of were circled and given top priority. She stayed in the library all day, skipping lunch and dinner in an effort to maximize her studying. She was finally chased out of the library by the librarian about an hour before she normally went to bed. She continued in this routine until about three weeks until the end of term when the library became nearly flooded with students preparing for either end of term exams, O.W.L.S. or N.E.W.T.S., at that point she had mastered the must know and wasn't concerned about the other bits.

On her last day in the library before it became too crowded for her tastes a small bit of paper hit her in the head. She had been so absorbed in a book on divination by goat brains that she didn't see who had thrown it. She opened it very carefully, the flap away from her face, it didn't explode, but she got nervous when she flipped it over and read it, it said simply This isn't over yet! The letter had been written in blood, but not the dark red of dried human or mammal blood, she sniffed it and it smelled reptilian or maybe... suddenly she jumped up and screamed as loudly as she could "LUTHER!" before running as fast as she could up to the Raven Claw tower. She got to her room and the first thing she noticed was that Luther, her beazor toad was missing. He hadn't hidden himself, Lillian always found him right away when he played that game, he was genuinely missing. She searched her room and the Ravenclaw common room in a panic, not finding him. She ran from the Raven Claw tower shouting "Luther!" managing to scare a good number of students. She told Mister Filch about the note and what she suspected and he immediately began hunting with his cat but stopped as Professor Snape came around the corner and spoke to Filch. Professor Snape walked up to Lillian, his hands holding something that was wrapped in a green silk cloth in front of him.

"Miss Hape — Lillian, I must apologize on behalf of my house, it seems someone from my house has ill will towards you. He was found on a table in the common room. I assure you that I will do all that is in my power to find who has done this and punish as severely as allowed," he said, handing her a no longer living Luther.

Lillian opened the cloth to find her toad, his skin a shade of pale white, spikes sticking out at odd angles. There was a single wound near his neck which could not have been fatal. The only thing that would cause a beazor toad to change to that shade of white and have spiky outcroppings in such a random manner was extreme pain, Lillian knew this for fact and was confirmed by Professors McGonagall , Poof, and Snape. Luther had died the victim of the Cruciatus curse.

"He was tortured..." she said before falling to her knees while holding her friend close to her chest, sobbing.

Professor Snape tested the wands of every student in his house, no one in Slytherin had a wand that had used that spell. Professors Flitwick, McGonagall, and Sprout questioned everyone in their respective houses to have had any problems with Lillian in the past, to no success. Lillian spent the next three days an inconsolable mess, she did not come out to eat, she did not study, Professors Snape and Flitwick had no luck with her, Hagrid had only marginal success in getting her to bring Luther out for a proper funeral near the lake, she went back to her room immediately afterwards and did not come out for two more days. Finally Professor Dumbledore insisted that she must come out or she ran the risk of not being allowed to continue her education at Hogwarts. She rejoined the world of the living but still would wear only black including a black veil until the day before her examination took place. In that two week period she had barely eaten more than toast and vegetable broth. She finally took off the veil and ate three meals that day, of average size for the average student, which was light for her. She dressed in the same wizarding robe that most students wore and went out to Hagrid's cabin. Hagrid opened the door before she could knock and said "I'm sorry. He was a good toad,"

"I want to get whoever did this. I have theories but no proof. I want them to feel what he felt. I want to do to them what they did to him,"

"NO LILLIAN! You know what was used on him, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape confirmed it. That's one of the unforgivable ones that is, you shouldn't even begin to think a doing that to a person,"

"I DON'T CARE! If they can do it to Luther I should be able to do it to them!"

"Sweetness, don't go lettin darkness inside your heart. No one, no man, woman, or animal deserves to be tortured to death, but we can't go lookin for revenge! Blimey, it's the first step on becoming a dark wizard that is," he said while wrapping his arms around her "Promise me you won't go lookin for revenge," he said to her.

"If I promised that I'd be lying, and I won't do that. I will have revenge in one way or another," she said.

"Lillian, a wise man er- woman, maybe, once said the best revenge is to live well. I don't know exactly what it means but don't lower yourself to the level of whatever would of done this,"

Lillian thought for a moment, smiled darkly to herself and said "thank you mummy," before turning back to the castle. She sat on her bed for the rest of the evening plotting how to prove Janice or Willow had murdered poor Luther. Even if I could prove it no one in the legal system would do a thing about it she thought to herself, it's technically not a crime to use that curse on an animal, just on people. Sure she'd get fined for destroying property and maybe cruelty to an animal, but nothing near what poor Luther went through. Near midnight, after all the others had gone to bed there was a tapping at the window. Lillian got up and looked out to see an owl sitting outside, a message tied to its leg. She took the message and the owl flew off immediately. She opened the message and it simply said:

I will see you tomorrow. -M

She read it again twice before folding it neatly and putting it in a clothing drawer. She went to sleep after that and did not dream of anything memorable.

The morning of the test arrived and Lillian got up before sunrise, washed and dressed before heading down to the great hall. There was no one else in the great hall, the fireplaces were not even lit. She sat down at the Raven Claw table in her usual spot and thought about a large bowl of oatmeal, and within a few moments a large bowl of very thick oatmeal was in front of her, with a bottle of hot sauce next to it and a steaming cup of black tea near her hand. She ate quickly before heading to the unused classroom on the third floor, south side as Dumbledore had told her to do. He was sitting at a long table with Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, and Madame Pomfrey. Everyone except Dumbledore looked as if they were half asleep, blearily opening their eyes to acknowledge Lillian's arrival. Shortly after Lillian arrived the door opened again and four more wizards came in.

Professor Dumbledore stood up and gestured to the arriving party "May I introduce the Ministries delegation, this is John Darewood, who will be in charge of the delegation. Behind him is Arthur Weasley with the department of Muggle Affairs, Frank Longbottom of the Aurors office, and Prentiss Lockhart, with the office of charms," The last introduction made Lillian's eyes nearly pop out of her head, it was Lord Monkshood!

Testing took several hours and was done in question and answer as well as demonstration format. The examiner would test Lillian in the classroom with one witness from the opposite delegation present. Professor McGonagall spent two and a half hours grilling Lillian over Transfigurations including arm, hand, and wand positions. Madame Pomfrey tested Potions, having Lillian brew seven different potions simultaneously, as well as describe in writing the cures for three types of poison. Professor Sprout handled Herbs, focusing on what seasons to plant, what amount of soil and light plants needed and how much water was required as well as proper harvesting. Frank Longbottom gave a very thorough test on defence against the dark arts, which included a demonstration of defensive spell casting in a wizard duel scenario. John Darewood himself tested Lillian on History focusing largely on the goblin wars before Lockhart covered her on Charms. Lockhart wore a smirk whenever Madame Pomfrey was not able to see his face, he did seem to enjoy spending time with her, testing her right under the noses of both the Ministry and Hogwarts. At the end he shook her hand, pressing a note into her palm before turning to join the Ministry delegation. Minister Darewood looked to Headmaster Dumbledore and simply said "We will be in touch" before the Ministry delegation left the room. After they left Lillian and Dumbledore were the only ones left in the room, Dumbledore looked to Lillian and said "As soon as they let me know I will tell you the result, although I believe you may wish to plan a celebration," Three days passed in which Lillian spent most of her time in the library looking up Prentiss Lockhart. She finally found him in an old issue of The Daily Prophet. What she found was that he had attended Hogwarts and had been in Ravenclaw, the news story showed him on trial before the Ministry. Prentiss had been accused in helping poisoning several muggles who were the parents of various students and attempted poisoning of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team as well as violations of the underage magic restrictions. The poisoning charges were dropped when Prentiss revealed the names of a group of professional sports gamblers had paid him a large sum to do the poisonings, the Ministry had charged Prentiss as an adult until he turned in the gamblers, they had dropped the underage restrictions when Hogwarts agreed to handle the violation with a one year suspension.

Lillian's classes had started their end of year testing while others had not, the testing was being staggered to try to give everyone adequate time in each subject. Lillian had packed all of her possessions and was ready to leave the school for the summer. She had been in contact with Aberforth already and he assured her she'd be welcome at the Hog's Head for the summer, he sounded as if he missed her but didn't want to admit to such. Finally there was a knock at the door, a house elf was waiting at her door, scroll in his hand. The scroll was from Dumbledore, and it read Passed with nearly perfect scores. Congratulations and enjoy your summer before the next term begins. Lillian rolled the scroll back up, said thank you to the House Elf and closed the door.

Chapter 17 The Cost of Revenge

Lillian walked out of the bedroom, down to the Ravenclaw common room, which was packed with students studying. She left the Ravenclaw tower and went to find Mister Filch, who was looking for a Gryffindor who had been setting off dungbombs near the entrance to the Slytherin house.

"Hello Mister Filch," she said.

"Hello Miss Lillian. Shouldn't you be studying?"

"I've already had my exam, I'm done for the year. What do you do during the summer?"

"Eh? Oh, um, I mostly read. Alittle bit o knittin, catch a rugby game down at a pub in Liverpool, ye know, stuff any o bloke would do. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I like you. You're one of my favourite people here, but I don't know that much about you. Do you have any family?" She asked.

"No, not no more. Me parents passed away years ago, had two brothers that both served in the second muggle world war, neither of them came back. It's just me and me cat, alone. I erm, appreciate talking to you Miss Lillian, but I erm, need to be getting on," he said, turning and walking off, trying not to cry over memories or the sweet words of a caring soul.

Well that didn't go very well thought Lillian. She tried talking to others but they were either busy studying or busy keeping students at their studies. Madame Pomfrey was the only one who seemed to be as out of anything to do as Lillian, although she was occasionally asked by students if she had anything to increase memory or prevent sleepiness, both subjects got a resounding no every time they were asked. Lillian and Madame Pomfrey spent a few hours in a game of chess, not wizard chess, but standard chess. They also took tea, Madame Pomfrey enjoying a cup of what she called her cleansing tea, (which smelled of mint and rose hips) while Lillian had an exotic licorice tea. Madame Pomfrey had plans over the summer to spend time on the beaches of southern France and would be attending a healers conference in New Delhi afterwards. The night came to the sky and Lillian headed off to dinner in the Great Hall. Several Ravenclaws were missing from the house table, most likely skipping dinner in favour of studying, while all the Ravenclaws who were there had several stacks of books and notes around them to study while they mostly ignored the food. Professor Flitwick came over several times to urge students into eating in five minute intervals between what they were studying, sitting a self turning hourglass down at the centre of the table. Most of the students obeyed his instructions, Rhiannon Browning got momentarily confused when the hourglass made a chime, she placed a gravy covered steak in her history book and tried to take a bite out of her bookmark.

Lillian went back to the Ravenclaw tower after dinner and offered to tutor anyone in the common room that thought they needed help. The Ravenclaw common room fell silent for a moment before dozens of people started gathering around Lillian. She was offered a comfy chair next to the fireplace and a warm blanket as well as tea and buttered scones. Markus Tiberius asked her to help him with transfigurations as his wand technique was often criticized by Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall. His problem seemed to be mostly in the wrist, he tended to bend his wrist more than needed throwing his spell work for a loop. Rothgar MacLaren had wand issues as well, he held his wand too much like a club, Lillian got him to soften his grip. Several second years asked her for help with potions, while she quizzed a third year on herbology. At some point a black cat belonging to a second year hopped into her lap and went to sleep. A pair of fourth year students were arguing with each other as to whether garlic protected against werewolves or if that was just a vampire thing. Nikki Duncan was asking questions about Satyrs and seemed to be slightly obsessed with them. Lillian found out that it had nothing to do with the end of term exams and everything to do with the holiday her family was taking to Greece in a few weeks. The night passed on with her tutoring at least one person from each year, most of the seventh year students were hesitant at best about asking a first year for N.E.W.T.S. level help but they found she was more than capable. She fell asleep in the chair, cat curled up in her lap, multiple students in comfortable positions on the floor surrounding her and was the first one awake in the morning. She went up to her room and dug out a package that she had been given by Aberforth on the day she left Hog's Head, it was a bag filled with powdered goblins tea and a filter bag. She brought the bag down to the common room and found a tea kettle, and began heating it while finding as many clean tea cups as she could. She brewed nearly twenty cups of tea before her reserve was exhausted and had them sitting on a table waiting for people to awaken. The scent was enough to get everyone in the tower out of bed within five minutes and buzzing like a beehive thirty seconds after the first sip. The entire Ravenclaw tower was heading off to class while most other students were still rubbing the sleep from their eyes.

Lillian went out to the greenhouse to ask Professor Sprout if she needed any help and was given a list of chores, most of which involved cleaning the mess that the first years had left in testing yesterday. She went about straightening the dirt in and around the pots before she swept the floor. She then watered the plants and removed any insects that weren't useful, dropping the pests into the pots of mandrake, watching the roots in the pot grab the insects and pull them underground before hearing a distinctive crunching noise. She had the cleaning and watering completed and was about to put her broom away when she heard a knock at the door. She turned and saw Hagrid standing there, smiling at her.

"Lillian, I heard you were lookin for things to do, and well, its been awhile since you went to the forest wit yer old mummy..."

"The Forbidden forest is closed to first years mummy, I could get in trouble for going in there," she said to him

"Aw, don't you go worryin about that. Nobody will say anything and if they do I'll sort them out," Hagrid said, pulling up his shirt sleeves to reveal his massive forearms.

"You prolly should git yer crossbow, just to be safe though,"

Lillian put the broom down and then got out her wand, saying "Accio Crossbow". Her crossbow came flying out of the castle at top speed, startling several students and a few of the ghosts. The quiver of bolts was on a leather cord that was tied to the crossbows stock, she untied it and then fastened it to her waist, taking out a fresh bowstring and threading it on. She loaded one iron tipped bolt and then walked over to Hagrid, simply saying "ready" before strolling past him to the woods.

"Are we looking for anything specific, mum?" she asked as they entered the woods.

"Not really, I just thought it'd be nice to spend time together, yeh know,"

They spent a few hours wandering the woods, noting the locations of any bones they found including one werewolf skeleton. Lillian noticed several rare herbs in the forest that would be useful and mentioned them to Hagrid, who just smiled and "okay dear". Lillian could tell by the distribution of specific plants and how low some of the long grass was that the centaurs territory was expanding in a south western direction, bringing them closer to the area claimed by Aragog. She mentioned this to Hagrid whose only response was "ooh, them spiders don't play nice, not with centaurs they don't",

"Mummy, have you been into the fire whiskey? You sound inebriated, or you think that I've gone back to being fresh out of the cauldron"

"Wha? No Lillian, I erm-, I just like you know, spending time with you. We don't have to be scouting, just enjoy the trees"

Lillian looked at Hagrid for a moment as if a squirrel had come out of one ear and gone into the other before saying "right then" and continuing on their path.

Hagrid seemed to be feeling nostalgic, and asked her if she remembered when the unicorn drooled on her, she gave a curt yes before asking him if he knew about any local floodplains. Lillian had no desire to walk memory lane right now. Hagrid is allowing his size or his maternal instincts to cloud his judgement and awareness regarding the environment we are in, there's a reason it was called the 'Forbidden Forest' she thought to herself. Once it started getting dark they made their way back to the school, Hagrid picking his daughter up in a bear hug before she went back into the castle. After reaching the Ravenclaw tower she put her crossbow away and changed for bed. She dreamed darkly, mostly of Luther and him hopping up and down on Janice and Willow until they asked for forgiveness, at which point they would be riddled in flaming crossbow bolts.

The morning came and with it relief. Today was to be Lillian's last day before heading off to Hogsmeade for the summer; she still dressed in her school robes and planned to change into something casual when she got to Hogsmeade. She had already packed and arranged transportation to the village for that morning. She wandered around the school saying goodbye to people, mostly the Professors as there were few students she had any interest in. She wasn't interested in the end of term feast and had been excused from it by her father. The Arithmancy club had already released a full break down on house points including deductions and additions as well as possible last minute changes that were rumoured to happen. She didn't really care about the points or the house cup, she had heard that Slytherin had won Quidditch with a strong margin this year and would win the house cup, with Ravenclaw coming in second in number of points. A house elf knocked on Lillian's door and let her know her transportation was here and loaded, waiting for her to hop in.

Lillian left her room and the Ravenclaw tower heading toward the main entrance to the castle. Lillian got on the staircase that was closest to the Ravenclaw tower's main entrance down past the forth floor and connected to a staircase that bypassed the third floor as well, but half way down the stairs shifted to connect directly with a landing on the third floor, right between the defence against the dark arts classroom and an unused classroom. The door to the unused classroom was open She turned around and was about to go back up when the stairs shifted again, leaving her on the landing. Lillian waited for the staircase to come back and noticed in the darkness of the unused classroom a dark shape that stood still. It was shorter than her and while it wore a hooded cloak she recognized a scent lightly in the air that triggered a memory of her arrival by train on the Hogwarts express. It was that same sickly sweet smell that Willow wore regularly. The staircase then returned and Lillian carefully backed her way onto the stairs and up three steps, her hand hovering an inch from the handle of her wand. The stairs moved again arriving at the spot Lillian had wanted to get to, her eyes still fixed on that one spot in the dark recesses of the classroom, the door to which closed as the staircase swung Lillian away.

She made her way down to the main entrance and out, seeing a fairly simple hay wagon with her trunk in it and Aberforth at the reigns. The reigns lead to a pair of what looked like the biggest goats she'd ever seen. They were easily two hands bigger than any draft horse and looked as if they lifted free weights in their spare time. They were mostly grey with some silver and white hair dangling from their bellies. There was a dark cloud like shape on their sides and their hooves and horns looked as if they had been dipped in silver. Aberforth read Lillian's expression and commented "I've been working with breeders in Greece for decades to get these beauties, they call um Storm goats and they fit that name. Now, are you going to stand there gawking or are you getting on board?" he said with a wink. She smiled and hopped on board. Aberforth only gave a light shake of the reigns and the cart was off. Lillian heard thunder the moment their hooves started moving and saw lightning shoot from the goats hooves towards nearby trees and bushes. They were to Hogsmeade in less than twenty seconds and to the Hog's Head in less than a breath, leaving a trail of fog stretching from where they were to the castle.

Lillian hopped down and watched her trunk lift itself out of the wagon and land at her feet, Lillian walking into The Hog's Head and stopped at the base of the staircase gesturing to the trunk to keep on, telling it "you know where to go" before turning to face Aberforth. "I will need to go up to the castle to take care of Polaris." she said.

"Hagrid already brought him down here, got him tethered behind the building. Thestrals do a great job keeping the rat population in control and garden gnomes run as soon as a Thestrals scent is in the air. Kingsley stopped by earlier, said he'd be back around supper, till then I need you to tidy the place up a bit. Got an inspector coming by tomorrow, always gives me a hard time if the place looks dirty, doesn't understand that that's the ambiance my patrons come seeking. Don't get rid of any of the dust, dirt or cobwebs, just put it in one of the dung boxes behind the bar for later. When you're done with that fill the cauldron half way with water and beer, the light stuff left over from when them bloody Americans stopped over will do fine, I'm chopping vegetables for stew tonight. I got a outfit for you to wear while you're here, go change before you start your duties," Aberforth said with a smile.

"A uniform? Here?" Lillian said with humorous shock.

"Not a ruddy uniform, just something to wear other than street clothes. Got them in your closet, one for each work day," Aberforth responded.

Lillian went upstairs and opened the closet, she found four white long sleeve blouses and four below the knee length plaid skirt, two vests with the Hog's Head sign on the pocket, one long white apron with the hogs head sign embroidered on it. She changed out of her school clothes and into the skirt and blouse, put on the vest and the apron before going back down stairs. She then went about carefully taking down the multi layered cobwebs and placing them in a box that was labelled dung. Aberforth knew which inspector was coming and knew he had a fear of dung, apparently he was hit with too many dungbombs as a small child and wouldn't dare open a box labelled dung. The dirt and dust bunnies were herded into another box with the same label, with the dust bunnies taking out picket signs and marching around in a circle inside the box, angry that their mating season had been interrupted.

Lillian then turned her attention to the empty cauldron standing near the fireplace. "Oi! Get to the tap ye rust-belly!" she said to the cauldron. The pub's only current patron, a dingy looking fellow named Crags who had been seen at the Hogs head at least once a day as far back as Aberforth could remember, let out a belly laugh and said "you sound just like yer old man, Missy!" to Lillian. The Cauldron waddled to the tap which Lillian turned on while also opening the valve for the rusty keg of American beer that had been sitting in the back since the 1960's. The pale ale had been well preserved with occasional jolts of magic from Aberforth and still smelled like the piss water that it was. The Cauldron was half filled and waddled with only slight sloshing back over to the fireplace. It stopped and kicked one of its legs toward the fireplace that was just barely burning. Lillian caught the hint and grabbed the last of the wood that was sitting next to the fireplace and tossed it in, only when the fire was beginning to burn would the cauldron climb back into the fireplace, bouncing up while its iron hanger grabbed the metal hook. Lillian rushed to Aberforth who was now chopping some kind of red meat, setting all the scraps in a bowl. Lillian gathered up the vegetables he had roughly chopped. "I put the last of the wood on the fire" she said

"There's more outside next to where Polaris is tethered, toss the veg in the cauldron and then take a break and spend some time with him, bring in some wood on your way back. Take these scraps out to him, might as well go to some use. There's some thyme growing back there that would go well in the stew" he said.

Lillian carried the veg out to the cauldron and tossed them in, making sure the cauldron didn't take the opportunity to spit them out at her or at Crags, a periodic proclivity of this petulant pot. She then headed outside with the small bowl of scraps, Polaris turned toward her, the pale white eyes of hers shining like pearls in a sea of oil, she gently walked up to Lillian, rubbing her head on Lillian's side and shoulder before munching from the bowl of meat scraps that was offered. Lillian began petting her, stroking her long neck and noticed a playing card sitting on his back. The card was face up, the queen of hearts, Lillian picked it up and the reverse side was pure white but had blood red writing on it, it simply said we have returned. Lillian felt she wasn't the only person there and turned to her right, seeing a cloaked figure standing ten meters out next to a tree before hearing the sound of a crossbow fire, followed by the sickening thud of its bolt striking Polaris right next to the shoulder blade. The bolt did not sink in deep but there was a fair amount of blood that initially came from the wound, an arc of blood hit Lillian in the chest and the cheek. Polaris let out a cry and then staggered, dropping to the ground in a sitting position.

Lillian screamed loud enough for half the village to come running. Only a quarter of the people who arrived could see the thestral laying on the ground, most of them were healers of some sort. The bolt was pulled out, there was no poison on it and it had luckily missed any major blood vessels. The wound was still packed with healing herbs and protective incantations were spoken, with many assurances by the crowd that Polaris would be fine and dandy. Villagers and those that came to the pub on a regular basis volunteered to keep an eye out for any unseemly characters which at this pub was everyone. An Auror arrived to take statements; Lillian was the only one who had been there when this happened. She told the Auror what she saw, about the crossbow, about the cloaked figure and the playing card. The Auror took the playing card and the crossbow bolt, placed them each into a small transparent bag and sealed the bag. The assumption was that someone had it out for Lillian and that she had been the target, Lillian agreed that someone was out for her but felt that much like Luther, the culprit wanted to hurt her by hurting the ones she loved. For the next few days there was tension at the Hogs Head and other than Crags, no one came by.

Life returned to semi-normalcy for the next two days until an owl arrived for Lillian, a summons by the Ministry to appear tomorrow to answer questions about the incident, with a representative from the department of magical law enforcement arriving five minutes later with a Letter from the Ministry to search the personal effects of Lillian Hape. Aberforth began to protest but Lillian said it was alright. The representative looked through Lillian's room and came back with Lillian's crossbow and her quiver of bolts in a translucent sack. The sight of the crossbow bagged hit Lillian like a fully loaded lorry, someone wanted to pin the attack on Polaris on Lillian. Rage boiled under a very thin veneer threatening to blow the whole town to ashes, Lillian's eyes turned pure black and she began levitating. The man jerked his wand out and stumbled on the last step tripping over his own feet to land on his back next to the door, shouting "STAY BACK MISS! I WILL USE THIS IF NECESSARY". He scrambled up and out the door, Aberforth began making tea and trying to calm Lillian.

She did calm down, landing with feet that would not support the weight of the emotions that now were crushing her to the floor, reducing a bright and brilliant young woman to a sobbing mess.

Kingsley arrived less than ten minutes after the Ministry official had left, pulling up a chair next to where Lillian was sitting on the floor. "Lillian, I'm sure you've figured this out but someone is out to get you. Someone with money is suggesting that you shot Polaris with the crossbow to get attention. They are going to question you tomorrow with the intent of accusing you of both filing a false report and mistreating a magical creature. There's also the magical law enforcement agent that stopped by. He's being pressured to accuse you of assaulting him, but that would require him to be in the same courtroom as you. The man is a scroll pusher, has no courage to face you in a courtroom, really doesn't have any place being a law enforcement but he has family in high positions. The charges aren't heavy enough for time in Azkaban but if you get convicted you get kicked out of Hogwarts and fined heavily," Kingsley said while mostly avoiding any eye contact.

"So what can I do? I was the only one there when the shot was fired, it came from a crossbow which everyone knows I'm an expert with" she said with a desperate voice

"I know, I'm trying to figure out what should be done about this. Owls have already been sent to Hagrid, Severus, and Albus. I will be escorting you to the Ministry. We're also looking into muggle techniques of crime scene investigation, you do need to know that there is a strong chance that you will be arrested tomorrow and there's not much we can do to prevent it. If you are arrested you will be held but not taken to Azkaban, there's a facility in Edinburgh," Kingsley said with a heavy heart.

"Edinburgh?" said Aberforth

"Mary's King Close, Edinburgh, the most haunted part of Edinburgh. It's a juvenile detention facility, they don't need Dementors there due to the ghosts that are in residence," Lillian said in a whisper, gathering herself up and going up to her room, she would not be seen until tomorrow.

Aberforth closed the Hog's Head early shooing Crags out with much backtalk. Aberforth, Kingsley, Rubeus, and Severus sat around a table discussing what to do next and never heard Prentiss Lockhart tapping at Lillian's windowsill.

Chapter 18: A Grin from the Dark

Lillian had expected Lord Monkshood to either send a message or stop by. She heard him tap on the window, saw him sitting on what looked like a levitating cushion. She opened the window and simply said "I am in no mood for your company, Prentiss, or Lord Monkshood or whatever you wish to be called, please leave me be"

"I will be brief. I stand at the ready for whatever you desire. If you wish to go on the lamb as they say I can find shelter for you and your thestral for the rest of your lives and I will ask nothing in return. If you wish to go through with the kangaroo court that the Ministry is preparing for you, I will make no attempt to stop you. I will however make sure that there is an expert there tomorrow that will prove your innocence. Have you washed the clothing you were wearing that day?" he asked.

"No, it's in the laundry pile in the bottom of my closet," she replied.

"I recommend that you bring the outfit you wore the day of the shooting in a sack. Do not clean it before the hearing," he said.

"I can take whatever they want to dish out at me, I just want to know who hurt my Polaris. Give me that persons name and let me spend five minutes in a secluded room with them and with no one to stop me," she said.

"I can tell you that those in charge of this are the same ones that never accepted you as a human in the first place. Convincing them that you are seeking attention and possibly dangerous isn't hard, the challenge is convincing the rest of the Wizengamot, and that requires coins and favours. The Ministry likes to keep a a facade that it hunts down dark wizards, the truth is that their authority attracts the dark hearted ones. I will keep my ears out for who is getting favours from whom and I will follow the trail to where it leads me and deliver your enemies to your hands. Good night," he said before disappearing with the hovering pillow.

Lillian went to her closet and dug the outfit she wore from the pile of laundry, several drops of thestral blood that had sprayed from the wound were dried on it. She packed it in a sack that she placed in her purse and then went to sleep that night with horrid dreams of unicorns and kittens and rainbow, it was very disturbing. She woke up to a knock on her door well before the sun rose, it was Kingsley had stayed at the Hog's Head last night. He was already dressed for the day and asked Lillian to be ready in the next five minutes. Lillian changed out of the clothes she wore yesterday and into an outfit that Professor Snape had purchased for her back around Christmas to blend in with the muggles, a hounds-tooth check a line skirt that came down to mid calf length, with a dark purple blouse, and a jacket that matched the skirt. There were small buttons on the sleeves of the blouse that were shaped like ravens. She put her wand in her purse and stepped into the shoes her father gave her, they changed into ankle length booties with a one inch heel that were in the same colour and pattern as the skirt and jacket. She could pass for a muggle with no problem, with the exception of the uncombed hair going in all directions. Her skin looked very pallid that morning and there were dark circles under her eyes. She left her room with her wand in her purse and headed down stairs to take on the Ministry face to face. Aberforth, Hagrid, and Severus were standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting. There was a table with breakfast waiting on in, poached eggs, bangers, dry toast, and black pudding, a cup of goblins tea waiting for her.

"Thank you but I'm really not hungry," she said.

Kingsley took her hand, "Are you sure? This might be the last chance to eat for a few hours, plus your family really wants to spend a few moments with you,"

"I'm sure. I just want to get this over with, and I'd like them to remember me before all this mess happened" she said, grasping his hand tightly.

"Okay, let's be off then" Kingsley said, walking over to the fireplace. The cauldron hopped out of the way before he got close. Kingsley took a small bag out of his pocket, pouring floo powder into his hand before throwing it into the fire. Lillian walked over to it, took one more look to Hagrid, tears welling up in his eyes, Snape who only gave a brief glance before looking away and Aberforth, who looked to be both angry and constipated before turning back and hopping into the flame and saying "Ministry of Magic" before disappearing, Kingsley hopping into the emerald flame a moment later.

Lillian flowed through a tunnel of emerald flame, passing many other fireplaces in a blink of an eye, arriving at the Ministry in less time than she felt. Kingsley arrived a moment later and guided her to the security desk. Kingsley looked down at the wizard sitting at the security desk who was sipping his tea and reading the Daily Prophet.

"Can I help you?" said the guard in a sleepy not really paying attention manner.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt, escorting Miss Lillian Hape" growled Kingsley. The guard jumped up and managed to knock over his tea soaking the page he was reading about Quidditch, the picture of the Chuddley Cannons became very angry for the drenching and started giving obscene gestures to the guard.

"Mister Shacklebolt, I-uh, I'm sorry I didn't see you..." stammered the guard.

"Just get on with your duties, Gerald." replied Kingsley.

The Guard handed Lillian a square metal badge that read Lillian Hape, visitor answering questions regarding the injury of the Hogwarts thestral Polaris. He then took out a thin golden rod that he ran along the perimeter of Lillian's body.

"Wand please" Gerald said.

Lillian took her wand out of her purse and handed it to Gerald, who placed it in a brass dish. The dish began humming and a small slip of paper slid out of the bottom.

"Ten inches, ash, sphinx tail hair core, does that sound right?" said Gerald.

"Yes sir" said Lillian. The guard handed Lillian her wand back which she placed back in her purse.

They walked to the elevator and hopped in taking it to the second floor to the office of Magical Law Enforcement. They were directed to the office of the junior head of Magical Law enforcement, Amelia Bones. Kingsley knocked on her door before saying "Madam Bones, Lillian Hape is hear to answer questions as requested," the door opened and Madam Bones said "Please come in Lillian,"

Lillian peered into the doorway and saw nothing but darkness. She stepped in hesitantly and then saw a very large office, there appeared to be a spell on the doorway keeping anyone from seeing in that had not entered. Kingsley followed her, resting one large hand on her shoulder, guiding her to a seat in front of a rather large desk made of dark wood. Lillian stopped and surveyed the room as Kingsley walked to a smaller desk adjacent to Amelia's. Kingsley sat down and opened a small drawer taking out a blank scroll, setting it on the desk, before taking out a long white quill which hovered over the scroll of its own accord. The desk that Kingsley sat at was the same dark wood as Madame Bones's desk but smaller. Madame Bones's desk had a bias relief carving in the front of it showing a wizard standing with wand extended over his head. There seemed to be rays of energy carved into the bias-relief with a banner at the bottom that read sit sapientia, illumina tenebras. There were five leather and wood chairs to her left that were empty and five chairs to the right side occupied by people; three people she didn't recognize and two that she did, one of which she knew as Lord Datura.

"I am Madame Amelia Bones, I am in charge of the proceedings. This is an informal proceeding, we need to ask a few questions, with potentially serious consequences depending on how you answer those questions. Mister Kingsley Shacklebolt, with whom I believe you are familiar, will be recording these proceedings. I will be asking you questions and determining your fate, if the witnesses feel the need for additional information they will request such and I will determine the relevancy of the question before allowing it to be asked. now please be seated," she said.

Lillian sat down on the edge of the dark wood and leather chair in front of Madame Bones, focusing on her and the scroll she was reading.

"Mister Kingsley, please start recording. Today is the 13th of June Nineteen hundred and eighty-five, office of Madame Amelia Bones, Junior head of Magical Law enforcement, this is an inquest regarding the incident behind the Hogs Head pub in Hogsmeade on the 7th of June Nineteen hundred and eighty-five involving the injury to the Hogwarts thestral named Polaris. We will not be prying into the issues of your age, birth, or legal status. The ladies and gentlemen to your right are wizards and witches from various parts of this land who are not directly connected to the Ministry or Hogwarts, they are witnesses to the proceeding and are here to ensure fairness as well as aiding the court in the discovery process, they are Mr. Carrow, a gardener from Godric's Hallow, Mrs. Vencion, shopkeeper in Hogsmeade, Ms. Williamson, a stay at home mother from London, Mrs. Nott, a writer from Godric's Hollow and Mr. Allen a teacher from London," said Madame Bones.

Mr. Carrow was a bald man who was chubby and pale; it was unlikely that he spent enough time in sunlight or in labour to be an actual gardener. He wore wizard robes that were faded from black to a dirty grey; it looked very much like one of the robes her father wore. Mrs. Vencion was thin with a nervous look, she seemed to always worry about something especially the shop her and her husband ran. Her hair was sandy blonde and up in a ponytail, she was knitting without magic. Ms. Williamson had beautiful ringlets of auburn hair cascading down her back, she could be described as rubenesque and looked like she would much rather be in a smoky jazz or blues nightclub than listening to these proceedings she wore a one piece dress that ended just above the knees. Mrs. Nott was very elderly with steel grey hair done up in a beehive style, her skin was covered in liver spots and she was very thin, her robes were what most elderly witches wore, spun black widow webbing, she had a different ring on each finger and at least two of them were poison rings. Mr. Allen gave no sign that he recognised Lillian but she knew that face as Lord Datura, his dark brown almost black hair cut short, icy blue eyes staring straight forward, he wore a forest green wizarding robe and sat with his hands clasped.

"Please take out your wand, Lillian and hold chest high parallel to your body. I am going to take my wand out and place it parallel to yours, we will each be holding the base of our own wand and the tip of each other's. This is a very old spell called the weight of truth. It doesn't work on white lies or secrets of the heart that protect someone you love. If you do tell something that your heart knows is not true your wand will begin getting heavy, I will be able to feel any changes in the weight through my wand. If your wand gets too heavy for you to hold you will be arrested. Mister Shacklebolt, if you don't mind," Madame Bones said.

Kingsley stepped forward, wand in hand, raised his wand and with a sharp downward motion his wand looking like the handle of a golden whip he spoke the words gravitas corde. Lillian could feel a circle of energy flowing from one hand through her wand and into Madame Bones left hand, circling through her and out of her right hand, going back into the wands before circling back into Lillian through her left hand, through her heart and mind, she felt a unity with Madame Bones, she knew she could not even consider lying. Kingsley sat back down at a desk to the side of Madame Bones's desk.

"First, please state for the record your name, date and place of birth." Madame Bones asked.

"Lillian Sarah Hape, March 6, 1982, Hogwarts," she said. As she said this she could hear echoing in the recesses of her mind Severus Snape January 9, 1960 Spinner's End Cokeworth England and Rubeus Hagrid December 6, 1928, Forest of Dean West Country England . Her wand did not feel heavier but it did feel slightly off balance.

"Were you at the Hog's Head Inn on June the 7th Nineteen hundred and eighty-five?" Madame Bones asked.

"Yes, I work there during the summer" Lillian replied.

"Not many witches are able to see thestrals, but you are?" Amelia asked

"Yes Madame, I have been for nearly a full year, someone I cared for died in my view" said Lillian

"Was that at Hogwarts?" she asked

"No Madame, it was at the Hog's Head." she replied.

"Did you give the thestral in question the name Polaris?" asked Amelia

"Yes Madame, I was given that honour by Albus Dumbledore" said Lillian

"Is he your pet or property?" asked Amelia

"No Madame, he is a Hogwarts thestral" after saying this Lillian's wand did feel slightly heavier and Lillian knew by the look in Madame Bones eyes she could feel it too.

"Did you know the thestral named Polaris was behind the Hogs head?" Madame Bones asked.

"Yes Madame, I am his caretaker" Lillian stated.

"You were appointed to this position by Dumbledore?" Amelia asked

"Yes Madame" said Lillian

"When did you ask to be considered for this position?" asked Amelia.

"I didn't, Professor Dumbledore offered me the position this past Christmas eve." she replied

At this point a note was passed from the witnesses to Madame Bones. Amelia read it and said aloud "This question is not relevant to these proceedings I recommend you ask Dumbledore about that. Now, Lillian, you are skilled in the use of the crossbow, correct?"

"Yes Madame, I would say I am a good shot." replied the young woman.

Madame Bones called out for Exhibits B and C, a young man with a contagious smile and emerald green eyes entered the room with Lillian's crossbow and quiver of bolts in a transparent sack in one hand and in the other a single crossbow bolt in another clear sack, dark blood was dried on the tip, this was the bolt that was pulled from Polaris. The sacks were deposited on Madame Bones desk. "Are you the last individual to fire this crossbow?" Amelia asked.

"To the best of my knowledge, yes" said Lillian. At this Madame Bones nodded to the young man who brought the crossbow and bolts in walked out and then came back in with a wizard and a witch. The wizard was tall and thin, his hair was dark brown but well styled, very pallid skin with welts and pock marks on his face, he had a strange scent of mulch and aged fish. The witch was beautiful and thin, she had almost a regal bearing. She had long curls of light brown hair and kind brown eyes. They both walked over to the chairs on Lillian's left and sat down.

"This is Mister Chester Pule, he is a bit of an expert in crime scene investigation as well as the use of magic on weapons," said Madame Bones "First, have you had a chance to examine the evidence?"

"No Madame Bones, I felt it would be, um, more proper to do so here with witnesses present," he said with a grin, "but I would be delighted to begin," he said gleefully, standing up and approaching the desk. He opened the bag first containing the single bolt without touching it, a simple flick of the wrist; wand in hand and the bags were both open. The single bolt levitated to eye level with the tall wizard. "The blood is consistent with dried thestral, there does seem to be very small bits of bone stuck in it. There are multiple sets of finger prints, none of which match Miss Hape's, this does not count out the possibility of her handling it, but if she did it was without magic and with gloves. I don't detect anything consistent with any known glove type," he said. "Turning our attention to the crossbow there are Miss Hapes prints on the trigger and other parts but...ah okay, this bolt has never been loaded into this crossbow, the string fibres that are in the nock of this bolt are different from the string material for this crossbow, this is actual dragon sinew for the crossbow string whereas the bolt has residue of a synthetic muggle made rubber. Now, the question of whether or not this could have been fired with a different string and then changed out, uh, it's not impossible but it's not likely, the time constraints would make that very difficult and I would expect to see some residue from the rubber on the crossbow, which, is simply not there. This bolt also has dry plastic fletching, Miss Hape's crossbow, if it had fired this bolt would have left some trace of its lubricants from the flight groove on the bolt and possibly some plastic dust in the groove. My conclusion is that in my expert there is no way this crossbow fired this bolt," he said lowering the bolt and crossbow back into their respective bags.

A note was passed from the witnesses to Madame Bones who read it and then asked aloud "Mister Pule, does this rule out the possibility of Miss Hape firing a crossbow at the thestral?"

"No Madame, it does not rule the possibility. To determine that we would need any and all articles of clothing used by Miss Hape on that day, which is not in the evidence list collected,"

"Actually, I do have the outfit in my purse, if I may" Lillian said.

Madame Bones thought for a few moments "If this were a formal inquiry or a trial that would be not allowed due to a lack of chain of custody" she said "But given that this is an informal proceeding, I will allow it if you will permit us to remove it from your purse," she said

"Agreed," replied Lillian. The young man who brought in the crossbow walked over to Lillian's purse, sitting on the floor next to Lillian and delicately opened it.

"It's in the brown sack at the bottom, don't worry there's nothing dangerous in there," said Lillian, smiling at the guard. He looked like he had never touched a woman's purse, not even his own mothers, and now he was being asked to reach deeply into the cauldron of Cerridwen herself and retrieve the mystery of life.

The young man looked up to her, smiled and nodded. He reached in and took out the brown bag, opening it and dumping the contents into a transparent sack. He passed his wand across it and said "This has not been tampered with by chemical or magical means,"

"Alright, evidence D is officially entered," said Madame Bones. "Mrs. Tonks, would you assist with this?" asked Mr. Pule. "This is Andromeda Tonks, considered an expert in the fields of stains and their removal" At this point the witch who entered the office with Mr. Pule stood up "If we assume that the Ministries suggestion that Miss Hape fired the crossbow and that it hit precisely where the Auror said it did in her report then there will be little to no blood on her outfit as she would have been standing too far for the little amount of blood loss that is reported to have touched her. If we believe that what Miss Hape said in her initial statement to an Auror that arrived on the scene was true, that she stood next to the thestral, there will be a arcing spray going from the top to bottom of her outfit," said Mr. Pule. The bag was handed to Mrs. Tonks who opened it with a flick of her wand, the clothing hopping out and standing up at Lillian's side, arranging themselves as Lillian would wear them. Mrs. Tonks stood up and closely inspected the clothing, her face less than an inch from where Lillian's breasts would be if she were wearing the outfit; Mrs. Tonks squatted lower and was nose to crotch with Lillian's pants. She stood back up and flicked her wand saying softly Veritas Defodio. An arc of green drops began glowing from the right side of the shirts collar all the way down to the left knee, orange patches also began glowing softly on the shoulder and side of Lillian's shirt. "What is revealed in green are drops of thestral blood that hit from Lillian's left, the orange are areas of thestral body oil that had rubbed on Miss Hape. I don't know much about crossbows but I do know blood, oil, and other stains, these clothes were standing next to the thestral when the thestral was hit" said Mrs. Tonks.

A note was passed from the witnesses to Madame Bones; she read it before rolling her eyes

"Is it possible that Miss Hape's clothes stood next to the thestral independently of Miss Hape while she fired the crossbow?"

"It is possible but given the time line we are discussing very unlikely for her to taken off her clothes and either put them on someone else or magically animated them while standing three meters away, naked in the daytime to fire a crossbow," replied Mister Pule

Another note from the witnesses came forth, Madame Bones reading it with disgust. "Rubbish! Mrs. Nott, if we assume that someone else fired a crossbow while Miss Hape stood next to the thestral there would be no point to these proceedings, we would be actively looking for the other party, but we have been instructed by certain elements of the pure blood community to focus on this young woman as the culprit, now haven't we?" Madame Bones asked. Mrs. Nott's heavily wrinkled face puckered and scowled at Madame Bones. The elderly witch stood up and began shouting "That is not a woman it is a dangerous monster!" she took out her wand and aimed it at Lillian and slowly started to say AVADA- before Madame Bones stood up, wand in hand and shouted Expelliarmus before Mrs. Nott could finish her curse.

"MRS NOTT YOU ARE OUT OF ORDER! GUARDS, SEIZE HER!" It took the guard in the office (who Lillian later found out was named Tobias) and an additional two senior Aurors to restrain Mrs. Nott and take her out of the office.

"I am officially ending this sham of an inquiry and regret going against my instinct to allow it in the first place. Miss Hape, on behalf of the Ministry, I would like to apologise for this mess, we will begin searching for the actual culprit, you may go" said Madame Bones. Lillian stood up, smiled, thanked Madame Bones and left. Before leaving the office she looked back to the witnesses, looking directly at Mr. Allen, made eye contact with him but did not receive the slightest hint of recognition, he looked at her as just another face in the crowd. She walked from the office to an elevator that took her back down to the first floor with the floo network, being violently bumped by a crone that was shoving her way from the elevator to the floo. Lillian slipped and fell, being helped back up to her feet by Tobias the guard who was heading in the same direction, he handed Lillian her purse that she dropped while tripping saying "be careful, you never know what could happen," Lillian smiled at Tobias and she thanked him before heading back to the outgoing fireplaces. She took a hand full of floo powder, tossed it in and said "Hogsmeade" before stepping into the flames. She had one foot in by the time anyone noticed the flames change colour and intensity, emitting a blast that cracked the fireplace and left a char on the ground and mantle. Lillian was no longer there.

What happened next is vague at best. Lillian remembered waking up in an alleyway amongst bags of trash. She was in a great deal of pain, there were dozens of bruises, cuts, scabs, and scratches on her body. The air was very cold, snow drifts flitted through the empty streets, the architecture of the buildings was very heavy and foreboding. She had a difficult time standing, her outfit looked like it had lost a fight with a fire breathing bobcat. She stood as best as she could dusting herself off, one of her heels was broken and the other kept changing form, worst of all, her purse, and wand were missing. She looked around and deduced that somehow a metal barrel that was used for people to warm themselves in the alleyway was connected to the floo network; Lillian had apparently come out into the barrel which then exploded. There were several men lying in the alley, they looked worse off than her and she was pretty sure they were not alive anymore. She looked around the rubble for her purse or wand but saw neither. She spent a few minutes attempting to summon her wand but it did not appear.

Soon muggle police arrived and started speaking to her, but she did not know what they were saying. Bits and pieces of their language were distantly familiar but vague at best. The police opened the door to their vehicle and sat Lillian in there before heading off down the street. The police kept talking to her and the only thing she could respond back with is "I don't understand,". As they drove down the street Lillian noticed that the buildings looked like a mixture of minimalist modern designs with old world northern European. She saw a group of young men standing on the street corner, they wore what looked like blood red wizard's robes but with fur trim, suddenly the dots connected, the young men on the street corner were students of Durmstrang, they probably were no further than apparating distance from the school here. The actual location was a closely guarded secret but she knew she was in or near Norway. Lillian tapped on the glass barrier between her and the police men and said "England" The police understood this single word and in very broken English asked if Lillian needed, help, she replied by nodding her head. The police car did a U-turn and then made a left, taking Lillian to a muggle hospital. A muggle doctor checked her over and gave her a sedative before applying topical analgesics and antibacterial creams. After about an hour an interpreter arrived and asked Lillian what she knew about the area that she was found it and about the dead men that were there. She said honestly that she woke up there and the men were already dead when she awoke, she did not remember how she got there and that her last memory was being in London. She was asked by the doctor basic questions like what day it was and who the prime minister of England was. The doctor told her that today's date was about a week after the date she gave and that she probably was suffering amnesia related to her concussion. From the questions they were asking it appeared that they suspected that some bomb was in the metal barrel and that Lillian was more than likely just a tourist passing through that got hit with debris. The doctor had the translator tell her that they were keeping her here overnight for observations.

Lillian changed into a hospital gown that was given to her, and then was told that she had it on backwards. Lillian felt this was a very poor design and insisted on wearing it with the gap in the front, putting her knickers and brassiere on over the gown. She was then taken to a room with a very comfortable bed. She was handed a television remote and told that lunch would be served shortly, if she needed anything to push the call button and both the nurse and translator would come. Lillian settled in, trying to think of how she would contact anyone in the Ministry or at Hogwarts from here. She grew bored of watching muggles she couldn't understand on the television so she changed channels till she found a channel that just showed black and white static and made a sort of hissing noise. This was very calming to her and she enjoyed it until the hospital orderly came in with a tray of what he said was food, he apparently thought there was something wrong with the television and began changing channels, he settled on a news program and handed Lillian the remote again, she changed it back to the hissing noise, the orderly walked out of the room slowly with his back to the door, smiling oddly at Lillian. The white tray that he sat on the table next to her bed had compartments to keep the food from touching, Lillian thought that if she had been what they call food she would prefer to not be touched by her neighbours either; there was a piece of wheat bread that had not been toasted or buttered, there was a small dish of various raw vegetables and in the centre a dark brown lump of ground meat that had been fried before someone threw a pinch of browned onions on top. On the other side of the tray was a glass of water and a cup of a blackish liquid that did not smell like tea, she sipped it finding the taste acidic, bitter, and burnt. There were small granules of black grit in the liquid, she immediately thought poison and spat it out, dumping the rest of the cup in a container of soiled linens that the orderly had left sitting outside her door waiting to be taken elsewhere. She ate the bread and sipped the water but had no desire to touch the rest. Minutes turned to hours in a bed that many healed in and some died in. At one point in the evening the interpreter came by to ask Lillian to turn off the television as the hissing static was disturbing to the patients nearby. Lillian did as requested, turning off the television and placing the remote on a night stand before lying in the bed and resting.

Lillian was laying in her bed looking out the door which she had opened to watch who came by. She had lost interest in the television and had slept enough that she didn't feel she would need any more sleep for a few days. The nurses and orderlies would close the door each time they came past but she would just reopen it, eventually she won this war as they stopped closing the door. Around one in the morning a ghost of a young boy walked down the hallway. He had dark hair parted to one side, was wearing nightclothes and had dark rings under his eyes. He looked like he was no more than 13 or 14 when he left his mortal coil. He stopped outside the door to Lillian's room and looked in, noticing that Lillian saw him. He raised his right arm and beckoned to her to come with, which Lillian did. The hospital was home to many ghosts, muggles who died there in confusion and never moved on, muggles who would rather stay there than going back to where family lived, muggles who feared the unknown. They tended to come out only at night, walking the halls of the hospital, there was a long line that walked back and forth from the emergency room to an operating room to the morgue. The young ghost that had drawn Lillian from her room led her to a door behind which was the emergency stairs. The ghost stopped her at the door, pointing to the lock and a nearby alarm speaker. The message was clear, an alarm would go off if she attempted to open the door with it still locked.

Lillian concentrated on it for a moment thinking of the lock and the guts of the muggle alarm, the word Alohomora whispering in the recesses of her mind. She then opened her eyes and gave the door a light push, it swung open as if it had never known a lock. There was no light on in this stair well and there were flights going up and down. Lillian raised her hand, palm up before saying Lumos orbis softly and a small ball of light appeared in her hand before it rose up and hovered next to her shoulder, giving enough light to see her ghost guide standing on the stairs in front of her. He once again beckoned her to follow and she did. They past the third floor which appeared to be office space for the doctors, fourth floor appeared to be storage as there were many boxes and old medical equipment.

The fifth floor looked from the window in the doorway to be vacant, but the ghost boy went through the door and beckoned her to follow after pointing to the alarm. Lillian again disarmed the alarm and unlocked the door. This floor was very cold and felt lonely, like compassion or love never came near. The ghost led her down the hallway, its design and layout were similar to the 2nd floor where she was staying but all the doors were heavy metal and locked from the outside. Lillian heard crying, laughter, mumbling and singing coming from various doors, her guide looked to her and pointed to the side of his head with one finger making a swirling motion. Lillian understood, this was the mental ward. He beckoned again and she followed further down the hall to a large room with twenty beds, twelve of them occupied. The door was locked and for some reason Alohomora was not working, she felt a slight energy coming off the lock, magical energy. Her guide put his hand into the lock and the magic protecting it disappeared. Lillian gave it another Alohomora and it opened, awaking the occupants. Lillian walked to the centre of the room and as she arrived there her guide spoke with a voice of sorrow "These are children of magical parents. They were born into your world but abandoned here because they showed no ability, they were left here without hope, they never see their families who are ashamed that they would exist. Your people would call them squibs. "He said.

Lillian looked to these youngsters who were sealed away, so close to a school for magic that would have nothing to do with them. Some of them got out of bed, clinging to a thin sheet for protection and looked at Lillian, some just curled up into a fetal position to sleep existence away. From what she could see they all appeared small and thin, their heads were shaved and many had bruises and scars on their faces. One of the residents, a fair skinned girl with a swollen lower lip about Lillian's height walked up to her and began speaking with a voice of pain, but no fear. The ghost guide translated for her, "Why are you here? You are too old to have just been dropped off and we do not get visitors, you are too young to be staff and you can magic, are you from the school, sometimes kids who have been here along time, the ones that no longer cry when beaten or keep trying to escape are given to the school, have you come to disappear us? "she asked through the ghost.

Lillian, fighting back the tears she felt for these victims of the magic world, said "I am not from around here. I don't know how I got to this city and I don't know how to get back. I am sorry for how you are treated, like you I am trapped," she said to the girl. The ghost translated for her.

"Trapped? You make light from your hand, you are one of the ones who left us here, you have power, and if you are trapped you are too stupid to leave. We do not need your apologies, we just need you to leave," the girl replied.

"Leave? With you being treated so...horribly? No, I am going to help you out of here," Lillian said with a defiant stomp of the foot.

"And what happens when we are out? Are you a princess that can take us all back to your castle and keep us fed and safe? We are better off here, free food, free medical care with every beating, and none of the arrogant wizards spiting on us for being born," she said with scorning laughter. She then turned around and went back to her bed. All of the other residents went back to their beds. Lillian, feeling defeated, turned and walked back to her room, her ghost guide following her. When they got back to the room she sat on her bed and looked at him "why did you take me up there if they don't want my help?"

"Someone needs to know," he said "someone with compassion, that doesn't hate or look down on us squibs, "he replied.

"Us squibs? You were a squib?" Lillian asked

"When I was alive yes, I came from a noble magic family from your side of the ocean,"

"Really? May I ask your name?"

"Adversus, Adversus Malfoy, son of Septimus Malfoy,"

"Your part of the Malfoy family? I met someone else in your family, his name was Lucius,"

"I don't know him, probably my brothers son," replied Adversus non-nonchalantly

"I don't mean to be rude, but I assume you died in this hospital, your family is from England, how did you get here?" Lillian asked

"In England they don't exactly let you drop your squib in with the rubbish to be taken away, you have to keep it, care for it, and let it live its life until its old enough to fend for itself and then dump it on the muggles. Here they let you dump your waste, pay a fee for the muggles to deal with it and you never have to be humiliated with its existence again. You can pretend there was no child or say that he died in his sleep or some tripe like that" said Adversus.

"This is horrible; there must be some way of stopping this."

"There is, and you can do it. Squibs have no powers in life but after we leave the body behind we can be great prophets. I can see in you a possibility; I can see you helping to advance the rights of squibs in England and the rest of the world. I can see you spending many hours researching how to infuse those born without powers with power, but only if you get out of here,"

"I'm listening, tell me what you want me to do," Lillian said. Adversus suddenly got a panicked look to his eyes and disappeared. Lillian lay back down and fell asleep until morning long after the sun rose.

In the morning the police stopped by with a surprise, they found Lillian's purse, it was in another alleyway across the street from where they had found Lillian, it was badly singed and contained no identification, no money- muggle or wizarding, no Bertie Bott's every flavour jelly bean, and worst of all, no wand. They handed it to Lillian and told her through the interpreter that if she did remember anything to please contact them, handing her a business card with a phone number on it. She thanked them and stared at her purse, waiting for it to reveal what had happened. The police left and Lillian sat on her bed gently touching her purse before dropping it on the floor next to the bed. She heard a feminine giggle the moment the purse hit the floor, and saw the edge of something small and white sticking out of the seam of her purse, she picked the purse back up, grabbed the white edge and pulled, finding a playing card, the queen of hearts. This one was just like the one she found on Polaris but on the reverse someone had written in a very small, tight script We hope your are enjoying the trip we sent you on, but don't stay too long, you'll miss all the fun we have in store for you. T.T.F.N. Lillian dropped the card which, upon hitting the floor shattered into dust that blew away.

Lillian then fell onto her bed, fearing what this could mean. Shortly after that a man burst into Lillian's room shouting in in a language the Lillian did not know. He wore an unattractive grey suit with a matching grey tie. He had a receding hairline and hair in the back pulled into a pony tail. Two minutes after he burst in two orderlies entered. They grabbed Lillian by her legs and arms, Lillian naturally started kicking and struggling, she startled them with her strength, freeing herself before taking off down the hallway. She ran straight into another orderly who had a syringe in hand, he injected her and grinned with a wicked look, expecting her to slump into his waiting arms. This was a mistake on his part, as Lillian stumbled and swooned for a moment but came up fighting like something straight out of a horror movie. She began hovering off the ground by several feet, looking the large man in the eye, hers having taken on the the visage of dark empty sockets. The whole floor felt several degrees colder as she grabbed the orderly who was close to Hagrid's height and threw him bodily down the hall and into a wall with a bone breaking thud. The two orderlies from the room found similar fates, the thinnest ending up being tossed like a dart, his head breaking through a cheaply made wall. All the men lived but would take weeks if not months to recover. Lillian began drifting down the hallway towards an elevator, the doors opened as she reached it, and a man stepped forward, a tall thin man with a short dark beard and silver furs with a blood red wizarding robe, he smiled for a moment at Lillian before his wand whipped out and whispered Glacius, covering Lillian in a sheet of ice, she fell to the ground in a solid block, the last thing she remembered was the smile of a liar as the world grew pitch black.

Chapter 19: The Ephemeral Blade

Lillian awoke strapped to a bed in a padded white room. The walls were white but covered in a layer of dust, it was clear that this room had not been touched by a cleaner for a very long time. Her hospital gown and underclothes were gone and she wore long white pants and a long sleeve white shirt. The outfit was made of a heavyweight linen like material and had straps coming off each end that looked as if they could be used to tie the leg or sleeve to something. There were bars on the window and the door had a small opening with a door in it. In one corner there was a lavatory with a sink built into the tank. There was no mirror or closet and the ceiling was quite high. She attempted to use charms to free herself but they didn't work, she suspected the restraints had been charmed to prevent escape. She knew she was on the fifth floor and the moon lit sky out of her window told her that it was at least a full day since she was accosted by the hospital staff. Lillian desperately wished to stand and move about; she could not sleep anymore and did not know what to do. Her mind raced with thoughts and she tried magically summoning and calling everyone she knew from Aberforth to Lord Monkshood to Hagrid and Severus until dawn broke, thinking of one last plan, she silenced herself, calming her mind and thought as loudly as she could Adversus, come to me please, Adversus and within two minutes the ghost child arrived.

"I'm sorry I disappeared and I'm sorry that you're in here, I forgot about the video cameras." he said, point to a round object in one corner of the room. It looked like someone had thrown a snowball and it was lodged in one corner of the room, Lillian should have noticed it as it was the only spot that wasn't dusty.

"It's okay, but can you free me?" Lillian asked

"No, the magic on the restraints is too strong," Adversus said.

"But you were able to undo the magic on the doors the other day?" Lillian asked.

"Yeah, but each time I do that it feels like I'm being burned. Ghosts that do it too much get ruined, its not pretty," Adversus said with fear

"What do you mean by ruined?" Lillian queried.

"The magic they take in is like a poison, it changes you, some start acting malicious and the living call them poltergeists. Some get twisted even further and end up being called demons. There's even stories that if you take in enough energy, all of the magic and life energy of a wizard you become a Dementor, not just a ghost that looks and acts like one, but you get reborn as the real thing," said Adversus.

"That's horrible!" Lillian said.

"I need some time to think, I'll be back tonight." he said as he faded into the dusty wall.

Lillian began sobbing, trapped in a muggle mental health ward, far from any place she called home, far from her loved ones. She sobbed until she fell asleep, waking when she heard the clatter of the small door within her door opening and an orderly looked through. The door itself then opened and the grey suited man from the other day entered with two orderlies and a tall blonde woman who wore a white blouse that was too tight for her buxom form and black leather skirt that really needed to be a few inches longer to not show more of her than needed. One of the orderlies brought in a chair and placed it next to Lillian's bed, the grey suited man sat down in it; he wore the same outfit as before and had a malicious grin. He began speaking in a language that was foreign to Lillian, the blonde translated for him.

"We know what you are and we've made arrangements to take care of you. Tomorrow one of your kind will arrive and take you with him for use in his school, I have been told your death with be a very long time from now with many hours of pain. You should never have gone where you didn't belong" he said. Lillian considered her options, concentrating with all her will and shouting with all her might SECTUMSEMPRA and for a moment she saw a warping of the air streak from her body along her belly before turning towards the seated man, cutting the man's tie in half and popping the buttons on the blondes blouse, freeing what they barely contained in the first place. In a panicked state the orderlies and the suited man ran out of the room slamming the door before the blonde could get to it. She pounded on the door and screamed until they let her out; no one except for Lillian noticed the slight cut in the restraint.

Lillian spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between wiggling her midsection and shouting sectumsempra at the restraint with only minor fraying of the restraint. The sun set and the moon rose, Lillian was no closer to freedom, but was developing a a very sore throat along with a waist that would be useful in belly dancing. She did notice that the charm guarding the restraint around her waist would glow with each spell that was tossed at it, it was glowing less brightly the more she hit it. Lillian focused herself with an image in her head of the restraint sliced into two halves and dangling to the sides of the bed she was tied to. She steadied herself before pushing with her legs and abdomen upwards, bridging her back and then with a deadly hiss shouted sectumsempra at the restraint, the anti-curse tried to glow but made a popping noise as the restraint was sliced in half, not just the restraint across her mid section but the ones around her wrists and ankles popped and opened. The spell also sliced into Lillian's body deeply, blood started to stain her outfit and dribble onto the bed, her diaphragm was sliced. Lillian's breathing became more difficult, she began to cough while trying to breathe. She rolled out of her bed and onto the floor before losing conscious.

Lillian awoke in darkness, her hands were tied behind her and her feet were wrapped together. She was inside a large plastic bag that was left slightly unzipped. She heard sounds that suggested she was in an automotive vehicle like what the muggles used only there was no light. She said with a dry throat, barely whispering, alohomora and the bindings on her ankles and wrists popped off. She unzipped the bag the rest of the way and saw she was amongst a few other individuals that were in these bags, however they were not alive. It was night time and the only other living individual appeared to be a muggle, who Lillian had heard are quite sensitive to the idea of someone that they thought was deceased walking up to them and chatting. The driver was watching the road ahead of him and didn't notice Lillian was out of her bag. She crept up to the door in the back, sliding over a few dead people, felt a handle and a lock. Lillian quietly unlocked the door and waited for the vehicle to hit a bump or make a turn. The roads seemed to not be well maintained so it wasn't very long before a large pothole was hit and the van bounced, raising all of the bodies a few inches off the bed of the van. Lillian opened the door at this moment and fell out of the vehicle, landing in a roll just like Kingsley had taught her if she was ever needing to escape a runaway wagon. She rolled into the edge of the pavement, stood up and ran. She heard the brakes of the van squeal as the vehicle came to a halt. She got at least one kilometre away before she realized that she was completely naked.

Lillian ran quickly into a heavily wooded area and climbed a tree. Once she was a few branches up and well hidden she started taking long deep breaths to calm herself. After a few minutes she was calm and began assessing herself and her surroundings. There was a scar on her abdomen and it appeared that the muggles had used thread and a needle and literally sewed her sliced skin together! Lillian decided she would not deal any further with the muggle medical system. She then said in the loudest voice her throat could muster "accio robe" and waited. Surprisingly enough her Hogwarts robe appeared about an hour later, flying through the air with a one armed house elf holding onto the sleeve. The robe arrived and Lillian stepped into it while the house elf stared at her and as if mostly asleep said "she is alive,"

"Yes I'm alive, did you think otherwise?" Lillian asked, a hint of anger in her voice.

"No, I knew better, your parents sit vigil every day, waiting for a sign of your return but the ministry has declared you deceased. I was dusting your robe off when it began flying. I caught it with my good arm," the house elf said slowly.

"I need you to do two things for me. First, find my wand, and bring it to me, do this now," Lillian said.

"The mistress will not like this no, but she did not say I could not bring it to you," said the house elf before he disappeared, reappearing a moment later wand in hand. Lillian took the wand from the house elf and prayed that she would never be unable to retrieve it again.

"I want you to tell my parents that I am still alive. I am somewhere near Durmstrang and need to help several squibs before I can leave, I will be back within a week" she said.

"The Mistress would not like for me to say that, she has told me that I cannot tell anyone where you are or her involvement," the house elf said, no hint of any emotion in its deep voice.

"What is your name and who is your mistress?" asked Lillian as she grasped her wand tightly.

"I am Splunt, I serve the noble Barrette family, and do not serve you" the house elf said.

"You do realise that you just told me that my former classmate Willow is behind this," Lillian said questioningly. The house elf's eyes grew very wide, its lower lip trembled before stating in a shocked voice "NO! I DIDN'T!"

"You told just said to me that you serve the noble Barrette family. The only member of the Barrette family that is not in Azkaban and would have any interest in harming me would be Willow. It doesn't take much logic to figure it out," Lillian said before turning and walking off deeper into the dark woods.

Immediately the house elf began strangling himself with all his might, the skin on his face turned a dark colour and his eyes began bulging out of their sockets before he succeeded in asphyxiating himself. With her wand in hand Lillian finally felt safe, the robe didn't hinder this feeling. Lillian stayed in the woods but followed the roads until the surroundings became too urban to do so. She avoided vehicles and humans, working her way back into the city and followed signs with a red even armed cross symbols until she came to the hospital she had been in. She had not noticed on the ride in with the police that the hospital was actually in a rather run down part of the city, many buildings were abandoned and boarded up, the few that were not abandoned had iron bars across the windows.

Lillian found one building that looked like a sibling to her father's house at spinner's end that was boarded up. It was fairly close to the hospital's western side, far enough from the main entrance that she would not be easily seen. She walked up to the front door, placed the tip of her wand where the door knob used to be and softly said alohomora, causing the door to open, pulling itself free of the boards nailed to it. The boards stayed nailed to the frame and Lillian had to crawl under the bottom one to get inside. Once she was in the house she realized that the house must have used the same basic plan as her fathers, as the floor plan was nearly identical. There were the remnants of family and its years together here now gone to ruin. Lillian looked through each room, finding furniture turned over or broken in nearly all rooms. Vandals had entered at one point and spray painted obscenities on each wall; the wallpaper itself was torn and fading. In the sitting room the books on the shelves could not be seen through the layers of dust and spider webs; its fireplace had the bodies of several birds and squirrels that had been curious about the other end of the chimney but had not survived the fall. There were newspapers and ruined books throughout the hallways and floors. In the kitchen assorted pans, pots and dishes had become home to dust and spiders. The master bedroom held the skeletons of the former occupants of this house laying in the bed, nightclothes still on and hands still holding onto each other even after death, matching wedding rings still rested on the proper fingers even thought the flesh had long since departed. The couples decay had ruined the blankets, sheets, and the mattress of the bed but it was still beautiful, the romance of this sight brought a momentary tear to Lillian's eye, she backed out of the room, locking the door before shutting it.

There were two other bedrooms, one that had been converted to a sewing room as well as used for whittling, a pocket knife sat on a desk with a rubbish bin had a great deal of wood scrap in it. The sewing machine sat with several pairs of trousers still waiting to be mended, a ball of yarn sat with one knitting needle stabbed into it while the other one looked like it was about to start a row of pearling, this would have been a sweater but lacked a good seven to eight rows before it would be wearable, Lillian felt the needle work was quite impressive. The other bedroom looked like it was indeed for guests and had been without occupants for some time. The bed in this room was not ruined like the bed in the master bed room and it had its own fireplace and a surprisingly untouched phonograph. Lillian decided she would sleep in this room.

Lillian went back downstairs and into the basement, finding mostly storage and one strange cage that held a skeleton in it, a human skeleton. The cage looked as if the stones in the floor at her feet had melted and reformed into the shape of a cage. Lillian could feel a magic in this cage, deep in the stone a lingering essence, wielded by a hand she had felt before, the man from the elevator that froze her, he had made this cage. From the skeletons size Lillian guessed that it was a human child, maybe four or five years old when it passed away. There were several healed breaks in its arm and leg bones, this child had a short and very unfortunate life, Lillian wondered if the couple that died in the bed upstairs had suffered from the same man. There were no ghosts to tell their stories here, only the wordless bones that testified to an existence and the conjecture one could draw from their state. Lillian found nothing of use in the storage here, but she did see the bricks on one wall in a peculiar pattern. She could feel something radiating from them, energy but not the magic of wizards; this had a very different feel. She looked at the bricks carefully and tapped on seven of them that would form a star, the bricks began to rotate and parted revealing a heavy metal plate on a wall stone. Curiosity got the better of Lillian and she undid the bolts keeping it in place, behind the plate was a long dark solid stone tunnel that ran in the direction of the hospital. Lillian climbed into the tunnel and crawled along to the other end which had another metal plate covering it. "Not yet" Lillian whispered to herself as she turned around and headed back to the house. About half way down the tunnel she felt coldness to her left and she stopped. She felt the wall and the moment her hand touched the wall it pulled inward, opening to another room. She stepped through the hole in the tunnel into a dark room, whispering lumos the moment she stood up. There were multiple skeletons in this room wearing armour, on closer inspection she realized that they were all goblins, at least a dozen armed and armoured goblins in this room, dead for an unknown number of years. There was a large chest that was not locked at the centre of the room filled with gold and gems. There was also a wooden box next to the chest. The wooden box was about a hand in width, about a meter and a half in length and a hand in height. Lillian lifted the box and examined it, it held a simple latch keeping it closed and felt like magic rested within. Lillian undid the latch and opened the box, finding the hilt and cross-guard for a sword but did not see a blade. She hesitantly felt for a blade and found something cold and painful, there was a blade, an invisible one that felt like it pulled someone's strength out if they touched it. The effect was not felt if the handle of cross-guard was touched or held, Lillian picked up the sword and it spoke to her with telepathy.

"You are human, a wizard to be precise...thou awaken this blade from a long slumber. I am named the Wizards Bane by those who created me and then abandoned me but I hold no love for that name. I will be known forever more as the Ephemeral blade. I was forged to help fight for freedom of the goblin tribes and then lost by them, they do not even seek me. I can read your history through your hands, I know how you were forged and I know that you still have the love of your makers. I know your heart, it is not sullied with hatred for others based on their races but you do not let those who hurt you get away with their folly. I submit to thee, Lillian, by your hand and only by your hand shall I be wielded," said the Ephemeral blade.

Lillian learned why this blade was named wizards bane, had unique abilities, it could drink the magic out a wizard or any magical creature that was cut by it, and as long as that being still bled their energy would be fed to Ephemeral, spells cast at the blade or its wielder would also be absorbed, and if the wizard was weak enough it would continue to feed the blade until the wizard died. Lillian put Ephemeral into a sheath she found in the box before climbing back into the tunnel. She left the gold for later and knew it would come in handy. Lillian went back into the house closing the tunnel as she had found it and began cleaning the house, spending the next few hours cleaning while planning on what her next move would be.

Lillian started cleaning by casting charms on the broom and mop to get them in on the chores, soon the hard wood floors were sufficiently clean to walk on bare foot without dirtying one's feet. She didn't feel the need to remove the cobwebs as she liked the aesthetic, giving a feeling similar to her father's house and the dungeons of Hogwarts. Lillian repaired the furniture and was tempted to start a fire in the hearth but did not want anyone from the hospital across the street to know this home was once again occupied, that could invite curiosity, a very dangerous guest in Lillian's current status. Lillian had to throw away the contents of the refrigerator as the house had been without electricity long enough for all the foods in the white box to be reduced to a large collection of mould in multiple shades of grey. The taps in the sink and water closet did not work anymore and Lillian would need to cast aguamenti each time she needed drinking water or water to flush the loo. She found dried vegetables and fruits as well as canned foods that were still good, there was some homemade noodles in a sealed jar and she found a tomato sauce in a jar and made spaghetti for dinner. Without electricity or a fire the noodles remained crunchy and not very good, and the sauce had taken on an oiliness that coated Lillian's mouth in an unpleasant way, she would need to figure out some way of creating either fire that gave off no smoke or electricity, or she would simply need to steal precooked foods and heat. Lillian had no problem with stealing for survival but wanted to keep that as a last resort. First she undid the spinning bolt thing that held the electricity plug thing in place and pulled it out far enough to get a good look at it. She couldn't see how the combination of metal, plastic, and wires made the electricity and gave up after half an hour. Next she got a dried log out of the rack next to the fireplace and sat it in the firebox.

"Let's see, bluebell flames obviously wouldn't work, no heat. Incendio does nothing to prevent or obscure the smoke," she said to the fireplace. The memories of Hagrid and Snape did not help in this instance. Lillian though and then an idea came forth, she smiled at the piece of wood in front of her and said in a firm voice acapnos while pointing her wand at the wood. It made a popping noise before flames slowly spread across the log, flames that burned brighter than what was normally seen in a fireplace, but small, the flames gave off a lot of heat but not a trace of smoke.

Lillian then found a cast iron pot that did not look to have ever been used and filled it with water before digging a box out of the pantry, it was marked kanakeitto. The box was yellow and had several paper envelopes that had a dried noodles, yellow powder, and dried vegetables. The box had a picture of a small and excessively happy chicken dancing with noodles and vegetables around a bubbling pot, a proportionately gigantic child loomed in the back spoon in hand and a lustful look toward the dancers. Lillian dumped a few of these packets into the pot that had started to simmer before standing up and doing her best imitation of the dance that the characters on the box were doing. It seemed to work as within five minutes she had a delicious smelling chicken soup in the pot. Lillian wondered if they have a way to select which chickens are emotionally disturbed enough to pose for that image knowing it will lead to the death of many relatives, Lillian said a prayer to thank the chickens who died for food and asked that they forgive the dancing chicken for leading them to become a yellow powder before she ate the soup.

Lillian stood up and grabbed a broom, bucket, and mop before going back into the basement and into the goblin tunnel, turning half way and entering the goblin chamber. She cast lumos and then started cleaning, sweeping and mopping a quarter of the room in the north-eastern corner before gathering up and laying out each goblin skeleton with care and respect, placing them flat on their backs, armour and sword at the feet of each skeleton in this now clean section of the room. Lillian knew that some of the armour was made from valuable materials and suspected that these had been goblin royalty. They seemed to have killed one another because the majority had a hand on a blade with the other end of the blade was in between the ribs of another goblin. Lillian thought about pulling the treasure chest, but knew that even with her strength it would be too heavy. She was about to levitate it but something in the back of her mind told her not to. She inspected the room more carefully, remembering that her mother, Hagrid once had to do a four foot long scroll on goblins and their treasure for Professor Bins when Hagrid fell asleep in the class. Lillian remembered that they never just leave a treasure out without some security measure, usually of a very deadly variety. Lillian thought for a moment before saying "Accio dental floss!" with a slightly used roll of dental floss flying to her from the second floor bathroom. She stretched out a metre of the minty green string and went behind the chest, pulling the thread under the treasure chest. Around the centre of the bottom she felt a snag and three blades shot up from the floor, one in the front and one at either of the side handles, at the same moment the stone that covered the hole into this room rolled shut. Lillian came within inches of having her hand sliced off and then noticed that the chamber was getting very wet, water was dribbling in from small holes in every stone in the walls, ceiling and floors.

"BOLLOCKS AND BLOODY HELL!" Lillian shouted. She ran over to the entrance and pushed it with no luck. She tried alohomora and ascendio but these did not help. The water in the room was already past her ankles. Next she pointed her wand at the stone sealing the hole and shouted Confringo which made the stone explode, but another one rolled into its place as soon as the smoke cleared. Lillian tried again and again, each time the stone would replaced by another. The water was up to where her navel would be if she had one by the time she stopped blasting the door. Lillian did not know what to do other than not drowned, she was racked with fear and started blasting the walls, a new stone replacing the old each time she destroyed one. As the water level reached the lower curve of her breasts Lillian hopped up onto the treasure chest but the water was up to her chin within 10 minutes. It rose quickly and was at the top of the room with no air pockets a minute after reaching Lillian's nose. Lillian thought for a few moments before acting. She hopped off the chest and onto the floor, wishing she had some gilly weed before taking aim at the gold laden chest and shouted Confringo, causing the chest itself to explode. Bubbles came up from the holes in the floor surrounding the chest as the guarding blades shot up stabbing the water and only hitting wood debris and rapidly scattering gold coins. The bottom plate of the chest that was attached to the traps trigger broke and fell down a hole, air jetted out of the hole and the water that had been filling the room drained as when the plug in a bathtub were pulled. The amour and skeletons, the shattered stone fragments, the wood and all the treasure were sucked down a dark square hole. Lillian almost went down the hole with everything else but caught the hole for the guard blades with a hand and the opposite foot, her height being a saving grace for once. Once the room was completely drained the stone rolled out of position.

Lillian was now standing in a perfectly clean stone room, soaked to the bone and irritated. She climbed out of the room and stopped, thinking for a moment before shouting ACCIO TREASURE! For a moment nothing happened, then there was a rumbling in the ground and the contents of the chest shot up from the hole and into the tunnel, showering Lillian with gems, gold, and pearls. She spent the rest of the day shoveling treasure into the house. Night came and she was exhausted. She stripped her now filthy robe off and washed it in the kitchen sink, hanging it over the smokeless flame to dry. The smokeless flame was hotter than normal fire and needed to be fed twice as fast as a normal fire, Lillian had to choose between warmth and sleep, sleep winning out. Her robe was dry within ten minutes and lay folded on a dresser; Lillian let the fire die out and crawled into the cold bed, sleeping under many blankets.

Lillian woke before dawn and went to the pantry, finding a jar of preserved pears that she ate with her fingers. She looked through the closets and dressers selecting a pair of dark pants that were being held on with a tightly pulled belt. She put on a white t-shirt which wasn't quite thick enough in this latitude and a plaid button down over it that she did not button. She exited the house quickly and stayed outside of crowds or main streets. She had a specific purpose in mind, watch for Durmstrang students, find one that could give her a location of a local wizarding bank. She looked for local coffee shops, book stores, and fast food restaurants, any place that would be home to the local teens. She spent the day wandering these locations finding only muggles. She returned to the house to find Adversus waiting in the parlour.

"How did you know I was here?" Lillian asked

"I had a shadow following you since you left the hospital" Adversus said.

"A What?"

"A shadow. They were once ghosts but have faded. No one remembers who they were, they don't even remember themselves but they continue on. You need to not stay around any longer than necessary. You should go back to England." said Adversus.

"I can't do that now. I need to do something to help those people in the hospital. How can I ignore them? You introduced me to them and I nearly died, I can't just leave them now." Lillian said.

"They don't want help. They've all been...punished for speaking with you. Security is tighter and they are in no condition to go anywhere. Just...just leave."

"NO!" Lillian shouted. "One way or another I will help them. Does that man keep records of the children they take in?"

"Yes, in a way. The man is Darry, the woman that was with him was his secretary, her name is Geri, but she never does any typing. When he takes one in he takes all hospital and legal records from the parents and gives them a fake death certificate. He tells the parents that the records are destroyed but he is too cheap and lazy, they are all stored on the fourth floor. He keeps a ledger in his desk on the first floor with the family name and how much the parents paid him to keep their secrets, but what use are all those stupid papers?" Adversus said

"Plenty to the right eyes, Can you describe the ledger to me?" Lillian asked.

"Black leather cover, says Perhe Vierustat. It means Family Ledger," Adversus said.

"Do you know where the nearest wizarding bank can be found?" Lillian asked.

"I can find out, let me ask around, I'll be back before midnight. I like what you've done with this place," Adversus said as he stood up and disappeared. True to his word, Adversus reappeared in the same spot he disappeared from at a quarter till midnight. Lillian was playing solitaire with a deck of cards.

"I found where the nearest one is and how to get there. Follow me," he said, walking through the front door. Lillian followed as quietly as she could while dragging a large sack; they ended up at what looked like an abandoned nightclub with a sign that had a picture of a toad being kissed by a beautiful woman. The broken neon tubes simply said 'PRINSSI'. They went to the side of the building and Adversus entered a door that looked as if it would lead to a cellar. Lillian opened the angled wood door finding only solid stone. She then saw Adversus's finger poke out of the stone. He said "Follow my finger with your wand" and started tracing a spiral pattern, Lillian did as requested and soon a hole seemed to appear in the solid stone, big enough for Hagrid to fit though, if he ducked. Lillian walked through and saw a dark and snowy village that was surprisingly busy for this time of the day. This town reminded her of Hogsmeade but with a much more sinister feel, it was a bit more like Nocturn Alley than she expected.

"It is called Noidan Kaupunki, the bank is at the centre of the town," Adversus said. Lillian noticed shops lining the street similar to the wizarding parts of London, and sure enough, at the centre was a branch of Gringott's. Lillian slowly made her way to Gringott's dragging the large sack with both hands. Many people stopped and stared but no one offered to help. Lillian came into the bank dragging the now wet and dirty sack along the clean floors of Gringott's heading for the desk of the reception goblin.

"Hello, I don't currently have an account with your bank, but I would like to start one," Lillian said. The goblin looked at her with disgust.

"You must have gold to start a vault here, no credit without...equity" said the goblin.

"I have gold, look," Lillian said as she heaved the sack full of gold onto the goblin's desk with a heavy thud. The force of the impact tore the sack spilling gold out onto the desk and threw small gobs of mud on everyone nearby. The goblin had a shocked look as he stared at the coins, dirty water dripping from off his chin. He stammered for a moment before calling over a master weights goblin, an antiquities specialist, and a legal writer. They escorted Lillian to an office with buttered scones and tea, bringing the coins with them. They were careful to make sure she always had a clear view of her coins but kept babbling in goblin speak, which sounded like a series of growls, grunts, and shrieks while Lillian enjoyed the honey and almond scones with clotted crème, the tea was an Earl Grey which Lillian was never fond of. Legal documents were drawn up to convert the antique gold to modern wizard currency, assigning a fixed value based on historical significance and metal weight, with a standard ten point spread for market fluctuations, the goblins brought in more scones and a different tea after noticing that Lillian had barely touched the Earl Grey, this one was a black tea but with hints of Jasmine that Lillian enjoyed. After six hours of goblins arguing they finally presented Lillian with a document that required one signature and asked her to name an heir and after thinking for a while between a cup of mint tea and a cup of licorice tea she named Rubeus Hagrid as her heir with Prentiss Lockhart as an alternate. She had a feeling in not just her heart but her head that the man would be tangled into the roots of her future. The goblins presented Lillian with a key to vault 302 and asked if she wanted to keep funds strictly in the Finnish branch or would she want a percentage available in the London branch. She elected to have half of the moneys in the Finnish branch and half in London, noting that the majority of the Finnish funds must be kept in muggle money of the local currency. Lillian also would be sending a representative to manage the funds on the Finnish side and would need the Goblins to draft the necessary paperwork for said person to retrieve funds in the form of muggle currency at a muggle bank whenever she needed to. Lillian told the goblins that she could use some help in carrying the rest of the gold in. The head goblin snapped his fingers. Lillian walked out of the office and headed for the main door before two creatures that looked like goblins but were each at least two and a half meters tall and at least as wide as Hagrid, only pure muscle rather than a reservoir of much pub grub.

"We carry. You lead," was the only thing they said. Lillian was very nervous but assumed they knew what they were doing and walked back out into the muggle world. Once in the muggle world they didn't look like goblins at all, just some very well built men dressed in grey sweat pants and hoodies. They followed her to the house and entered, needing to pull off all of the boards that went across the frame. They shifted back into huge goblins once inside and each took out a sack before they started scooping treasure into the sacks, their hands were webbed allowing them to be used like massive shovels getting every coin, gem, goblet, pearl, and tiara that could be found. Lillian followed them back making sure to watch the sacks and not the nice young men until everything was fully accounted for and a balance was written in a ledger, which Lillian was given a copy of. Any time money was added through deposits or interest the ledger would update and anytime any fees or withdrawals were made the ledger would be automatically updated. Lillian took the muggle equivalent to one thousand galleons with her to buy what she would need. Lillian went back to the house, making one stop while still in the magical village at a shop selling ink, paper, and quills. She headed back home and said "Step one complete," before lying down in her cold bed. She had difficulty going to sleep as there was a rather vocal owl nearby. She heard it hoot at least once every five minutes, she got back out of bed to tell it off and realized that there was an odd shadow on her wall coming in from the window. Sure enough there was a letter holding onto the window with magic and a flowers from a Monkshood plant and a Mandrake, the stems of the two intertwined and attached to the envelope. The text was easy to deduce as Lord Monkshood's handwriting, the purple letters giving a secret code message. She held the letter close to her nose and breathed in the scent of the cologne that he left on the letter while writing, her pulse quickening.

Dearest one,

I am quite glad that the rumours of your death seam greatly exaggerated. I assume that if you wished to contact your family or school you would have already. If that opportunity has not presented itself I would be quite ecstatic to deliver the message. If your desire is to remain anonymous for a longer period of time we will respect that. Please respond?

Lillian's response was quick, writing on the back of Prentiss's letter.

Dearest one,

I appreciate your concern but I am fine. I am dealing with a delicate situation of trying to improve the lives of individuals that suffer from neglect. I would like your knowledge and help in the ancient art of blackmailing the elite families in the wizarding world. I would appreciate it you could come by tomorrow around seven, wine would be nice, I will have some bread, cheese and fruit. On another note, I want to get to know you better, no masks or hoods - no titles, no pre-tense, no word games just you and just me, just talking over dinner.

She folded her response and put it into the envelope that his letter came from before beckoning to the owl. The owl landed on the windowsill and reluctantly took the letter, giving a displeased look before flying off. Lillian went back to bed and slept without dreams while Adversus came back into her room, sat down on the floor and watched Lillian sleep. He often liked to watch the mortals sleep, it reminded him of what mortality was like, where time, structure, regulations, expectations and demands dominated your day and the timelessness of the dream world reigned over a person's night. Day was a maze of following structured rules where nights were more of a casual slide allowing the spirit to explore what the day said was not possible.

Adversus thought back to his mortal life, he remembered his parents loving him, and treasuring him but always allowing him to get into trouble he realised after his death that they were watching for him to extract himself from trouble with magic. He remembered when he was around six months old he broke a collection of antique vases while crawling about the house, his mother scolded him and made him cry before using her wand to show how to cast repairo on one. When Adversus didn't replicate he received a spanking, punishments became more and more severe the older he got. When he turned two his father moved him to a ten foot by ten foot cage built in the basement and hidden behind a false wall, which was the last time he saw his parents no matter how much he cried for them. One night his parents held a party and he heard his mother announce that she was expecting, making no mention of their first son, locked in the basement beneath her. He learned from the servants that came to toss a bowl of gruel to him that his parents claimed that their first son had been kidnapped by a muggle and had been killed during a rescue attempt. It was actually a blessing for him to go off to the hospital, as the beatings where not as severe. It was an outbreak of cholera that finally claimed the young man in that same ward that he took Lillian to that night that started all of this trouble. Adversus hated dwelling on these thoughts but he had little else to think about.

Lillian awoke the next morning before the sun rose. Adversus was still there, staring off into the distance of his own memory. Lillian sat down in front of him, and asked him if he could find a way to distract the administrator around two o'clock this afternoon so he wouldn't be near his office. Adversus told her that someone in the hospital owed him a favour or two and he would make sure that the administrator was nowhere near his office at that time. He stood up and vanished through a wall. She conjured clean water into a basin and washed herself before dressing in a black sweater she found in the closet and a pair of dark leggings and wandering off into the town. She had been thinking about what she would need to do next, she took the muggle money and went to the nearest grocer and bought two loaves of bread, and some cheese and strawberries. She went to the nearest clothing store and bought a few pairs of jeans and black long sleeve t shirts as well as one dress that not only fit her but flatter her, it was a white cotton sun-dress with sunflowers on it, and she picked up a plastic floral bracelet that matched the dress. She stopped by a book store and made a purchase before going to a record store where she looked through the vinyl records, picked out a few records, one that featured a British band that was popular singing about a chameleon and two American singers. She walked back to the house before noon, changing into a pair of dark coloured jeans and a black long sleeve t shirt before setting out food in the sitting room and draping a blanket on the floor to use for a picnic.

Lillian then went down into the basement carrying the bag from her stop at the book store and reopened the wall, unbolted the metal plate, before crawling through the dirt tunnel to the other end. She found that the bolts could be unscrewed from this side also and that while there was a brick wall on the other side it was already marked as to where to tap. The wall opened and Lillian found herself in the bottom of the elevator shaft. She walked across to the other side of the three metre wide shaft and forced the door to the floor open, taking a quick peek at the dark hallway of this sub-basement, noticing a red glow from a small light on a security camera pointed at the doorway. She cast obscuro at the camera, hoping it would work on muggle devices. She then felt the wall for the door to the stairwell. Lillian cast obscuro again at a red light she saw near the door. She unlocked the door and opened it just enough to fit the tip of her wand in before casting fumos, filling the stairwell with a dark fog. Lillian quickly bolted up the stairs to the main floor, stopping when she reached the door. She looked out the small window in the door and saw Adversus appear across the hallway, she saw his lips move silently saying wait, holding up one hand with all fingers extended, counting down; once all fingers and thumb folded inward Lillian saw the hospital administrator run past the door with a large cell phone at his ear and Geri followed quickly behind him. Adversus then gestured to Lillian and she opened the door, following Adversus to the administrators office. There was a nurse at the front desk that was too busy reading a book to notice Lillian sneak past her and into Darry's office. Lillian opened the drawer in the large desk that Adversus pointed to and at first saw only a bunch of file folders.

"Where is it?" she asked.

"Beneath the folders" Adversus said.

Lillian shoved the folders apart revealing the ledger in the bottom. She opened the bag from the book store, revealing a book that on the outside was identical. She sat the two books next to each other and placed her wand on their covers. She sat with each hand on one end of the wand concentrating, before saying reddo, the books both glowed for a moment as the contents of one were copied exactly into the other. Lillian then put the copy into the space under the files where the original sat before shutting the drawer. She snuck back out and into the stairwell, completing her trip from the houses basement and back in less than twenty minutes. She looked through the ledger, noticing that Darry was not its first owner, and that it had entries as far back as the 1950's. There were quite a few alleged pure blood family names not just from England but from all across Europe. She changed into her sun-dress and heard a knock on the front door of the house a few minutes later. She peeked out a window and saw Prentiss Lockhart standing at the front door, dressed in black dress pants and a white button down shirt, wearing a sport coat. Prentiss had a bottle of wine in one hand and a bouquet of daises in the other. Lillian took a deep breath and walked down stairs, turning on the phonograph that she had moved to the sitting room and opened the door for Prentiss.

"Come in, um, welcome to the uh, house that I'm squatting in," Lillian said, fidgeting with her bracelet. "Um, you can take off your clothes – ah coat! I meant coat, if you want to" Lillian said, cheeks turning crimson.

Prentiss had an amused look as if Lillian were a mouse that climbed into a cat's food bowl. He took off his sport coat and draped it on a chair before seating himself on the corner of the blanket. He tapped the bouquet of flowers and suddenly they had a vase, which sat neatly on the blanket. He then tapped the wine bottle, the cork hopped out, landing on the floor before splitting in half, each half reshaping into a wine glass. "Don't be nervous, you asked me to come so I came. For the time being this is your house, your rules. Now, about the blackmail you mentioned," Prentiss said, hoping to switch the mood to a business one.

"Ah, yes. I have this ledger, it contains the family names of Squibs born into elite or pure blood families across Europe," Lillian said, picking up the book and opening it, sitting down on the blanket just out of arms reach, and not handing the ledger to him.

"Oh, that is something. Rumours of this have been around for ages, but this, this is worth your mother's weight in gold. I assume you would like this to be used for extorting large sums of galleons for yourself, with a handling fee for The Nightshade Society? Say twenty five percent?" Prentiss said. He wouldn't actually take twenty five as he had a soft spot for the girl but wanted to see how well she'd do at negotiating.

"Actually I'm not looking for any of the money for myself. I'm hoping you will take this book and use it as you see fit, it is just a ledger and not very useful without the birth certificates of those listed in here,"

"Birth certificates? What idiot would keep that kind of records?" Prentiss said in shock, knowing she had used the ledger as exquisite bait, he felt the hook lodged in him and a steady reeling of line.

"The same idiot that I took this from, I will be happy to tell you exactly where to find the records but I need help in rescuing a group of squibs in this persons care. I just need some muscle to help get about a dozen squibs in poor health out of where they are and into a life of their own choice," she said, appealing to his heart.

"Nobility is a beautiful virtue but it will not clothe, educate, or feed the squibs, do you have a plan for them?" Prentiss asked.

"Actually yes, this book isn't the only treasure I've come across lately. I have secured funds that will be sufficient to get them what they need. I am hoping that you can help me get these squibs to a muggle boarding school, one with a good reputation, I was thinking that there is a muggle school in London that Mister Allen, or should I say, Lord Datura, teaches at. Once in these schools they would just need someone to function as an administrator, forwarding whatever finances were needed until they graduate," Lillian said.

"And if they are kicked out of the school before then?" Prentiss asked, ignoring her mention of Lord Datura.

"Then we make sure there is a home for them to come back to at least until they are an adult. I'm not asking to manage a nation of squibs, there's a dozen," Lillian said before holding out the ledger.

"So we will need to purchase property too?" Prentiss asked, taking the ledger and staring at it. This would be a major boost to the Nightshade society.

"I'm sure we can find a house," Lillian said.

"I'll need to run it by Lord Datura for final approval. I can guarantee he will approve but even if he didn't I would make sure you got the assistance you needed. Now, about us," he said, setting the ledger down and sliding himself closer to Lillian. He took one of her hands and held it close to his lips as he looked into her eyes, her heart raced with hope, fire burning deep within.

"I … I feel that I may have led you on Lillian, and I am sorry. I see before me the body of a young woman who might be ten years younger than me, a body that most men wouldn't think twice about if she expressed interest. I see someone who has the intellect and wisdom beyond my years but I cannot help but stumble over your age. Lillian, you must understand that I cannot...CAN NOT bring myself to forget the number of days and hours you have spent on this world. Lillian, dear, I understand you wanting to get to know me, but I will not...violate a child. If you were legal.." he began to say something, but Lillian only heard rejection.

Lillian drew her hand back from him, resisting the urge to slap him; instead she held her hand to her heart and began sobbing. "You hold me to this number? You who were charged by the Ministry as an adult when you were sixteen? The calendar does not determine my intellect or wisdom! I seek someone that respects and honours the spirit within this flesh, you sir, are nothing but a pretentious cad and a coward," she said as she jumped up.

"Lillian, please, you must understand, I have a position in the Ministry and I need to keep certain decorum..." Prentiss said as he stood.

"LEAVE NOW BEFORE I DO SOMETHING THAT YOU'LL REGRET," Lillian yelled as she stormed upstairs. She heard him open the door and close it behind him through her tears. Around midnight Adversus appeared, Lillian felt a change in the air before he said anything.

"You're acting your age" he said, breaking the silence.

"Excuse me?" she said, looking up at him.

"You were born about three years ago and you're acting like a three year old. You know that man couldn't be romantically involved with you, he's what, in his twenties? In calendar time you're three, in school levels you're eleven going on fifteen, you might look like you're ready for your apparition test but still, it doesn't matter how smart you are or about the wisdom you've inherited from your parents, get used to it, life isn't going to make an exception for you just because of an odd birth or smarts or experience, none of those things make you special, you can cry a river and curse that man's name, that's not going to change anything," Adversus said.

Lillian thought about it for a while in silence knowing Adversus and Prentiss were right, she hated that she had acted like such a child, she hated being wrong, and she hated having to do what was needed, which was to apologize. She wrote a letter to Prentiss apologizing for acting like a child. She also said that if he would forgive her actions she still wanted to be friends and business partners as they had discussed earlier. She wrote that in spite of the desires of her heart and her body she would not bring up the subject of romance until she had graduated, and she would appreciate it if he would refrain from any innuendo. She folded the letter over three times and opened the bedroom window, hooting towards a tall tree that she suspected of having an owl. Shortly afterwards a screech owl landed on the windowsill with a mouse in its talon. The owl looked at Lillian with an irritated expression, she looked at it and said "go ahead and finish your meal, I didn't know I was interrupting dinner". Lillian waited till it finished eating the mouse and then offered the owl a napkin to wipe off its feet. The owl gave her an irritated look again. "I don't fancy having mouse blood on the letter," she said, picking up the napkin and offering to clean the owl's feet for it. The owl begrudgingly allowed the cleaning. "I need you to take this to Prentiss Lockhart" she said, offering the letter. The owl ignored her, looking instead to the purse she had sitting near the bed. "Oh, you charge for delivery? Fine, but it better be quick and undamaged," Lillian went to her purse and took out a knut, the owl gave a derisive hoot, so Lillian took out a sickle, another derisive hoot, Lillian looked at the owl saying "five sickles and that's final,". The owl didn't respond but pulled a small leather pouch out from under its wing that had a few other coins in it. Lillian deposited the sickles in the pouch and placed the letter in front of the owl. The owl put the leather pouch back under its wing and took the letter with one foot before it flew off into the night.

Chapter 20: Invasion of the Squib Snatchers.

By morning there was another owl at the windowsill, this one had a letter and a deceptively small package. The letter was a response from Prentiss; "Apology accepted, and I agree to your terms. The Nightshade Society formally agrees to your business proposition and would like to convene at the house you are using to plan this operation at two in the afternoon (local time for you); we have selected a group of wizards good at rapid entry of muggle based facilities to secure the documents and squibs. We can execute this operation as early as dusk today. We have managed to connect your fireplace to the floo network and will arrive accordingly,". The package when opened revealed contents much bigger than the packaging that contained them. The package contained a strange outfit; it looked like a cloak attached to the robes used by professional Quidditch players, heavily padded with metal armor like coverings over the knees and elbows with a combination of dragon and troll hide strips crisscrossing the plates. It felt like there may be some anti-curse/jinxing spell cast on the armor. The hood was a light purple while the cape was a greenish color. The padded body suit was an earthen brown color, the initials L.M. presumably Lady Mandrake were on the top portion of each sleeve in a lighter shade of brown than the rest of the outfit. There was also a mask for the face that looked like a brown skull and a pair of heavy brown boots, a knife attached to the right boot. The outfit was sized specifically for her; she tried it on and thought she looked like some comic book villain. She liked the look and put the outfit back on after washing herself. She got used to the heavy boots and liked the clomping sound they made.

Prentiss and Mr. Allen arrived by floo precisely at 2 pm, bringing a picnic basket full of sandwiches. Mr. Allen introduced himself as Sean and shook Lillian's hand. Lillian, still in armor sat down with the two men, finding that the armor was not designed for the feminine social norm of crossing ones legs. She reluctantly took off the mask and ate a sandwich. Lillian told the two men about the hospital and where the records were kept as well as the squibs. She also revealed the tunnel under the house and the security cameras as well as the door alarms. She told them about what was going on with the squibs and the wizard she ran into with the freezing charm; Prentiss and Mr. Allen looked at each other and said simultaneously "Karkaroff". A plan of action was drawn up that involved the three of them and a group of five shock wizards. About two hours before dusk Sean went back through the floo and returned less than ten minutes later with one of the squad who introduced himself as November and was dressed in padded armor similar to what Lillian was given. Sean told Lillian and Prentiss that the other five would be arriving shortly. They arrived just after dark driving a muggle ambulance. The driver introduced himself as Bravo; he was dressed in an ambulance driver's uniform. The next one into the house was dressed as a muggle doctor introduced himself as Delta, followed in by Kilo who was in jeans and a sweater, looking like an average muggle. The two remaining were in padded armor introduced themselves as Sierra and Tango. Sean went over the plan once everyone was present; Bravo, Delta, and Kilo would arrive in the ambulance. Prentiss, November and Sierra would apparate to the roof of the hospital, jinxing the phone lines going out of the hospital and the electrical system that ran the alarms and security cameras before entering by the roof and heading directly for the records on the fourth floor. Lillian, Sean, and Tango would enter through the tunnel bringing the squibs back through the tunnel and into the house. All wizards were told to avoid using magic directly against muggles but would defend themselves if needed.

At the stroke of midnight Bravo, Delta, and Kilo got back in the ambulance, waiting for ten minutes before they would start heading to the hospital. Prentiss took out his wand and changed from his wizarding robes to padded armor like the rest of the teams with a flick of the wrist, his team quickly apparated to the hospital roof and would wait until the ambulance arrived before they would start, giving Lillian, Sean and Tango time to get through the tunnel. Lillian and her team went down into the basement, Sean changing into his armor while going down the stairs. Sean's armor was nearly identical to Prentiss's and Lillian's, the only difference being that the hood was a white color. He stopped and stared at the stone cage and its skeletal occupant while Lillian opened the wall and Tango unbolted the metal plate covering the tunnel entrance. The three entered the tunnel single file, Tango in the lead with his wand fastened to his arm and shining a light ahead of him. Once through Sean checked a pocket watch, holding one arm raised up to signal wait. The dim lights of the elevator shaft fluttered for a moment, which was the signal that Prentiss and his team had jinxed the security and phone lines. They entered the sub-basement, Lillian noticing that the red lights from the security cameras were not lit. They opened the door to the stairwell and made their way up each of the five floors, stopping next to each door and checking for anyone nearby. Lillian saw from the first floor door the commotion that had everyone's attention in the emergency; Kilo was spraying greenish fluids from every orifice and creating quite a scene. Lillian's group proceeded up past the third floor, glancing in on Prentiss's team as they passed the fourth floor, they were apparating with boxes out of the hospital, taking hundreds of documents out that they would comb through pulling out any birth and death certificates for patients listed in the ledger. Lillian and her team reached the fifth floor and went through the door, all three of them with their wands ready.

The team approached the door at the end of the corridor slowly, they were less than a meter away when the door opened quickly from the other side, Igor Karkaroff emerged shouting Confringo, hitting Tango in the chest, the man fell down, blood trickled out of his armor. Sean and Lillian both jumped out of the way, Lillian hitting Karkaroff with Furnunculus while Sean fired the Leg-Locker Curse at Igor, they both hit simultaneously sending Karkaroff down in a world of hurt, boils covering his body while he lay on the ground, unable to do more than wiggle and whimper. Sean then fired Obscuro at the defenseless man before kicking his wand away. Sean looked to Lillian and said "I need to take Tango back; we can't leave his body here for discovery. Go get your squibs ready." Lillian went forward, a sense of foreboding filling her. As Lillian entered the large room at the end of the hallway she discovered she was too late, the squibs were all dead; all twelve of them hung from the metal beams in the ceiling, hung with their own bed sheets, all twelve from youngest to oldest dead before her. She caught the sight of someone to her side trying to hide. She spun to her right, wand ready and saw the hospital's administrator, Darry crouching by one of the beds. He stood up, adjusting his tie before speaking, "What? Did you think I would not notice the change in the ledger? Stupid girl, I saw you hiding in the stairwell, you and your little friend the ghost. You caused this you know, if you hadn't taken the list I wouldn't have had to do this. They would be alive if you didn't interfere, you little bitch. You go back to whatever dungeon you crawled out of!"

"You...You monster! These were children!" Lillian Shouted, wand shaking in her hand. Her knees grew weak but she did not fall.

"What are you going to do you whore spawn? Are you going to cut my tie again? If you could hurt me you would have already," Darry said, smugly.

Darry turned and began to walk off, Lillian fired the Leg-Locker Curse into the man, who was suddenly stiff as a board. Lillian next said Levicorpus, considering for a long moment whether or not to tie his neck tie to the rail of the stairwell and drop him over. Lillian walked back down the stairs and out the front door, heading for the home with no guilt on her conscious.

Chapter 21: Very charming

Lillian met Sean and Prentiss at the house and explained what had happened after Sean had left, Prentiss held her in his arms as she cried her eyes dry. She changed into jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed the ephemeral blade and packed her wand in her purse before asking for Prentiss to take her back to England. Lillian, Prentiss, and Sean agreed to setting the house on fire before they left to remove any trace of her stay there, they left the body of Tango in the bed that Lillian had used before. They placed next to the bed a kerosene lamp that had been jinxed to fall over in five minutes time, starting a house ablaze. Lillian spent the night at the Nightshade Societies headquarters in a guest room.

Lillian returned to Hogsmeade the next day, riding on the back of Prentiss's broom. Prentiss dropped her off in a section of the forbidden forest that separated Hogwarts from Hogsmeade, just deep enough that her arrival should go unnoticed. They hugged before she walked to the road leading from the town to the castle, or from the castle to the town, however you look at it. She walked from there to the Castle, its gates swinging open when she came to them. Mister Filch was the first to see Lillian, he was polishing the hinges on the main door, Argus heard Lillian approaching and turned to see who it was, falling to his knees before shrieking "OH MY GOODNESS! SHE HAS RETURNED! SHE IS REBORN!" before fainting. Madame Pomfrey was the next to come out after hearing the commotion, squeaking at the sight of Lillian. She immediately came over to Lillian and checked the young woman's forehead and then her wrist, completely ignoring Argus.

"Lillian! Where have you been? Never mind that come inside, we need to get ahold of your parents and the Ministry! Did you know that Hagrid has gone off to look for you? Your father has been prowling Diagon Alley for a week for any information on your whereabouts! What are you standing about for? Come in we must get you to the Headmaster now! " Madame Pomfrey grabbed Lillian by the wrist and nearly dragged her up the spiraling stairs to the Headmasters office. Lillian barely heard the password of 'Chocolate frog' uttered as they ascended. Dumbledore met them at the threshold to his office, not looking the least bit surprised. "Thank you Madame Pomfrey, I will take it from here, you may go," he said, taking Lillian by the hand and leading her to a pair of chairs. Lillian sat in one chair while Dumbledore sat in the other.

"Before we begin, I have already sent messengers to your parents, they will be arriving shortly. I have also heard reports about a girl matching your description near Durmstrang, some of which are quite disturbing if they are true. The most disturbing thing that I have heard is that you have been in contact with the wizarding world and did not bother to contact your parents to let them know you were still alive. They have been hoping for six weeks that they would see you. What you tell them is up to you, however, if you do not tell the truth there will be repercussions that you may not be prepared for. This is all I will say on this subject. Now, on to something more pleasant, tea will arrive shortly, would you care for a jelly bean?" Dumbledore asked with a smile.

The tea did arrive in a few minutes; it was hot and properly British, served with cream and sugar. There was small talk about the latest news as reported in the Daily Prophet, but both Dumbledore and Lillian knew it was just meaningless filler preventing awkward silence, they continued for about fifteen minutes after the tea had grown cold before Dumbledore stood up and turned towards the balcony, "Severus is approaching". He walked to the balcony, Lillian following a few steps behind. A dark spot could be seen on the horizon, growing larger. Dumbledore smiled as Snape landed, stepping forward to hug Lillian. Snape said nothing but a single tear of relief rolled down his cheek. He then looked to Lillian and the first thing he said was "What do you know of your captors? Were you...tortured?"

"I know who is responsible, father. I know why they did what they did, but not how or much of the details. I am missing at least a full week of memories, whether through a charm or injury I don't know. I...I am sorry father..." Lillian said, wanting to explain what happened.

"NO Lillian, you have nothing to be sorry for, YOU were a victim" Snape said.

"There's more to it that you think father, please let me finish...I could have returned sooner but...I was trying to help some people who ended up dead because of me," said Lillian.

"WHAT?" said Snape

Lillian explained everything to Dumbledore and Snape, from waking up in an alley and the trip to the hospital and the ghost boy named Adversus. She told them about the squib children and the abusive conditions they lived in. She recounted the stay in the psychiatric ward and nearly dying. She told them about her escape and the house elf that belonged to the Barrette family. She explained the treasure and even the sword. She carefully left out mentioning nightshade society, saying that she met a less than scrupulous wizard who was both willing and able to gather a group of men to do as she needed in rescuing the squibs. She told them about finding the children murdered and that she snapped, leaving out what happened to the muggle hospital administrator. Lillian asked Dumbledore and her father if they would like to extract her memories and review them with a pensive, but the men declined this offer. She suspected they would but as a precaution had Prentiss extract certain details and put them in a vial roughly an hour before they arrived, the true memories were secreted away in a vial that looked to the world to be a tube of lipstick.

Lillian and Snape left Dumbledore's office and headed to Hagrid's hut at Dumbledore's suggestion. Dumbledore went to retrieve Hagrid after an owl arrived from the Ministry, letting Dumbledore know that Hagrid was currently being held in a muggle jail in Dublin for public intoxication. The hut was cold as the fire had gone out weeks ago and in more of a need for cleaning than usual, Severus grumbled about the state of the hut until Lillian pointed out that he could assist in tidying up a bit while she made a warming fire. Severus did as suggested and gave the hut the deepest cleaning it had ever known. There were moments in the cleansing that Lillian was sure she heard filth begging for mercy. Within fifteen minutes the hut was a clean, cozy, and warm home with crumpets and hot tea. Dumbledore appeared shortly afterwards with a barely conscious Hagrid who when seeing Lillian did nothing but cry and hug her. Dumbledore added a pinch of a white powder to the tea Hagrid was given helping sober the man up within a few moments. Hagrid was so overwhelmed by Lillian's reappearance that he could do little more than tell Lillian how much he loved her and missed her. Dumbledore said good day to the very odd family and left while the family spent the afternoon and evening chatting and catching up on life, Hagrid did not ask Lillian even once what happened, he was just grateful that she was there. They had a roast with root vegetables and butter beer for dinner and Hagrid insisted that Lillian and Severus stay the night in the hut before pulling what looked at first to be just a folded chair from the rafters that unfolded into two beds. The hut which normally looked as if it didn't have the floor space to support more than one guest visiting suddenly had sufficient space for Hagrid, Lillian, and Snape. As darkness descended upon the land everyone went to bed, with Fang the boarhound insisting on snuggling up to Snape, in spite of the man's protest.

The next day arrived and Lillian was up before sunrise making breakfast and tea. The men woke and ate having very little conversation throughout the meal. Dumbledore stopped by the hut to discuss what should be done for Lillian's summer. They did decide collectively that Lillian should be safe to go back to her job at the Hog's Head but any travel further than the village or the school would require someone being with Lillian. Dumbledore had filed papers on Lillian's behalf to have her declared not dead or undead, but simply alive, had also sent an owl to his brother to let him know that Lillian had returned and would probably want her job back. Dumbledore warned Lillian that the Ministry would insist on her coming down to verify the claim that she was not dead or otherwise without a pulse but that for her safety she should refuse, requesting for a Ministry official to visit her in Hogsmeade. Dumbledore asked Severus to return to the castle with him as a load of supplies for the dungeon would be arriving shortly and a full inventory of the Dungeon would be needed by sunset, after which the week long inventory of the library would start. Severus hugged Lillian and looked as if he were in pain when Rubeus offered to hug Severus.

"I almost feel sorry for you, Rubeus, living in this cramped shack; however the alternative, having you in the castle proper might be even worse. I will be expecting compensation for my wand being used by that filthy animal for a chew toy. I cannot wait to get back to the lab as someone here has fleas, I suspect it is not the dog," Snape said before leaving. Hagrid replied with an obscene hand gesture to Snapes rapidly retreating backside.

Hagrid insisted on walking Lillian to the Hog's head, Lillian noticed that no one was on the streets of the small village and all the shops seemed to still be closed from last night even though it was after ten in the morning. Lillian suspected they were mostly in the Hog's Head, planning on surprising her to welcome her home. Lillian did not like the idea of surprises but went along with it, showing no sign of knowing what would happen. They reached the front door of the Hog's Head and the windows were dark, Hagrid grabbed the door handle and opened the door, darkness and dust was the only thing Lillian saw. Once inside all the candles flared into life and everyone from Hogsmeade yelled "Surprise". There was a large banner reading 'WELCOME HOME LILLIAN' in floating golden letters that shot out sparkling confetti. Madame Puddifoot' s cherubs that were normally only brought out around Valentines were hovering overhead, pelting Lillian with glitter before assaulting the rest of the guests and their beverages. There was a five layer cake with gold frosting on a table at the centre of the room that tasted like a citrusy creamy honey, obviously made by Honeydukes. Aberforth was giving free drinks for the length of the party, making sure everyone understood that the moment the party ended he'd start charging. A reserved keg of mead had been brought over from the Three Broomsticks by Madame Rosmerta who was also supplying half the butterbeer. Music was provided by a local band that called themselves the Hoglets, they were the teenage children who lived in Hogsmeade, their passion for music was much greater than their talent, although it was nice to see her old former friend Jacob Vencion again, who played drums for the band.

The party lasted for a good two hours before the shopkeepers need to run their business overwhelmed their desire to celebrate, causing a mass exodus from the Hog's Head to their various store fronts, some of the stores had their doors blown off in an overly excited attempt to open before anyone else did. Madame Puddifoot was in such a hurry that she left her cherubs behind, and after the third customer complained Aberforth chased the cherubs out of his establishment with a broom. One cherub took the brunt of Aberforths broom attack and ended up being swatted into a tree. With the end of the party Lillian ran upstairs and changed into her work clothes before heading back down, taking the broom Aberforth used for cherub smacking to begin sweeping up confetti and glitter. The party décor was removed very quickly and the Hog's Head was returned to its normally grubby state.

Within a few days the Ministry did send a representative or more specifically three wizards, one who was versed in verification of life, one that was versed in wizarding laws of death and estates, and an Auror to make sure that Lillian was not a reanimated corpse. The examination was done in Lillian's room and at first they insisted on Lillian stripping naked but after she refused and Aberforth burst in ready to defend her right to wear clothes they relented. The Ministry wizards probed and prodded Lillian for a few hours and after being satisfied removed her name from the list of the deceased, sending notice to several papers to print a retraction in the obituaries. It was rare that such a retraction had to be printed but not unheard of in the wizarding community. The Ministry officials did also update her age, feeling she was physically 16 rather than the legal twelve she was. Afterwards Lillian wandered Hogsmeade, visiting old friends and the shops, she saw an unfamiliar face working at Dogweed & Deathcap, the local purveyor of plants for Hogsmeade, a young woman, probably around 13, red hair and grey eyes, skin so smooth she didn't look quite human, but the young woman disappeared into the back of the shop before Lillian could greet her. Lillian thought no more about it and wandered off; hoping that the Shrieking Shack might be willing to put on a show. Sadly the Shack made no sound although it did give off some strange scents. The week continued normally until the following Saturday, they day of Hogsmeade's subjugation.

After returning from the Shack Lillian went to bed in her room at the Hogs Head. Business had been light that night and Polaris was in the stables at Hogwarts again, the school had decided that it would be best for all involved if she were under the watch of Hagrid for the time being. There was just a little over two weeks before the beginning of the term, Hagrid and Severus had already begun planning on going to London for the day before Lillian began her 5th year to have one night on the town. Severus had already pre purchased Lillian's text books and all other required supplies, Lillian had plans to look into a new animal, perhaps that old cat at The Magical Menagerie, creekshams, was it? Lillian wasn't sure of his name but she wanted some kind of companion for the loss of Luther. Lillian fell asleep dreaming of Prentiss unaware of someone watching her from outside, hovering inches from her window. The Queen thought All is in place, tomorrow begins her end.

Chapter 22: Childish games and fatal frivolities

Morning came and with it the cry of the roosters, dawns sunlight shined on Lillian as she hauled wood in for the fire. The cauldron was already filled with water and small amounts of beer; it stood near the hearth wiggling its feet like a child than needed bathroom access. Vegetables were being chopped with a charmed blade while bacon and eggs fried in a pan; biscuits were rising in the oven while morning tea steeped. Aberforth's gruff appearance and attitude hid the fact that the man was one of the best cooks in the area and he had developed a cult like following for his hangover special, a thin slice of bread toasted with crumbled feta cheese, two quail eggs, a slice of tomato and some tarragon. Lillian had tried mastering this sandwich but her quail eggs never turned out right, Aberforth wouldn't let her cook in his kitchen.

The stew started Lillian began cleaning up the excess filth, it took a trained eye to know how much dirt was ambient and how much was too much. Normal procedure was for the extra filth to be stored in case the normal amount got low due to being tracked out on customer's feet but there was two full barrels of filth downstairs; Lillian took the extra outside to pour into the dirt. The day looked lovely as Lillian scanned Hogsmeade, the sun bathing the green leaves in light and warming the coldest hearts. In the distance she spotted a new display at Honeydukes and would need to go check it out later, it was most likely the new products that they had been whispering about for the last few days . Lillian went back in, holding the door for a group of veiled but usually friendly (to her) hags who had just arrived. They took their usual table and started telling the same stories they told everyday about how they had hexed local magistrates, poisoned dragons, and what their great great grandchildren had been doing at Hogwarts – the great great grandchildren had all graduated by the time Rubeus had been sorted, some of their great great grandchildren were in Azkaban now, some were no longer living, some were successful business wizards in Diagon Alley but none of them visited their great great grandmothers, they probably wouldn't recognize the hags on the street and would definitely not realize the family connection. Lillian felt bad for these ladies, having to live purely through their memories. Lillian brought them their usual, tea with a shot of firewhiskey for Mrs. Leprosaria and Mrs. Chiroptera, tea with a double shot of firewhiskey for Mrs. Mucere and a basket of hot rolls with butter. The rest of the usual guests started rolling in and Lillian quickly confirmed that they wanted the usual and served them. Lillian had begun being able to tell time just by who came in.

Noon arrived and the Bar was once again dead, Lillian ran up to her room to change out of her uniform that Aberforth insisted was not a uniform and into the street clothes she had picked out, jeans and sneakers with her Hoglets t-shirt. She left Hogs Head and started heading down the street, noticing that it was unusually empty for being this close to start of term, like as dead as it was her first day back in the area after her disappearance when the majority of the town was hiding in the Hogshead waiting for her arrival. She heard music coming from Honeydukes and followed her nose. This music was very happy and chirpy, like a muggle steam powered piano, the kind she had seen at a traveling circus in a textbook for muggle studies she had read before "officially" entering Hogwarts. From the memories she shared with Hagrid she knew it was called a calliope and not usually heard in the wizarding world. The scent in the air was sweet - almost too sweet, like a wine made from dandelion and strawberries but curiosity got the better of Lillian and she headed straight for Honeydukes.

Lillian arrived finding a dozen of the town's population standing in the store, vacantly staring forward. She asked Mrs. Vencion if she was okay without a response, she asked several others the same, waving her hands in front of the eyes of several wizards and witches with no response. She called out 'Hello' to the curtained doorway behind the counter before wandering back there. Ambrosius Flume was standing in the kitchen, wand in hand and an empty look to his eyes, an empty bowl hovered in the air while a wooden spoon stirred at its nonexistent contents, several dozen cupcake pans that had been stacked neatly were laying in a pile on the floor, the oven still open. Lillian found the source of the sweet smell, a cauldron of yellowish green frosting, something in this frosting smelled vaguely familiar, she reached a finger out to taste it but something in her heart screamed STOP! before her finger reached the contents. She levitated a glob of the frosting, before casting Extracticus, causing individual ingredients to pull away from the main mix, it did not truly separate the base components but merely stretched them into small spheres connected to the main glob by a thin strand. She could easily identify the sugar and butter from the rest of the concoction, she then noticed other familiar ingredients quickly realizing that the majority of the flavor was a variant of the Essence of Summer tea she had created, it was the right ingredients but the proportions were badly off, there was a few extra ingredients added to try and compensate for the missed amounts, nutmeg, strawberry leaves, thistle milk, and something licorice like but with a bit of alcohol, Lillian's mind connected the scent to a taste, then seeing in her mind a fine crystal glass with a green liquid in it, a spoon on the glass with a single sugar cube, water poured over the sugar and into the glass turning the green liquid a milky greenish white, it was Absinthe. There was something else in the frosting, something magical, moon dust, pearl dust, rose thorns... all ingredients for a love potion with a touch of mandrake essence in it! This went beyond love and would control those that tasted it, making them mindless drones. A single taste of this frosting would enslave the strongest spirit for a day, the amount on a cupcake could render that same mind a void for months. Lillian ran from Honeydukes towards The Hog's Head where her beazor was stored but as she reached the doorway the familiar face of Janice Barrette came from out of the building, wand in hand, a basket full of cupcakes in the other hand, her hair had become even paler, it was now the colour of snow and she wore an equally pale white cloak, her tan had faded and her previously earth brown eyes were a light blue, she wore a blue lipstick and blue eye shadow, she was looking almost like a drowning victim..

"Sorry, you're too late for this village, and if you wanted your beazor, it is a pile of dust now," she said smugly

"You're behind this Janice?" Lillian demanded.

"I no longer answer to that name, you filthy Monster, you may address me as the Queen of Diamonds. I know exactly what you are and I'm glad to be away from that madhouse of a school. Whoever thought it would be a good idea for you to be a student rather than something locked in a cage and being studied needs to be in Azkaban, not my parents. Now, as for this little town that you love so much, this town that is the start of our conquest, I can't take all the credit, I did my part but none of this would be possible without my dear sister The Queen of Hearts," she said.

"The Queen of Diamonds? What is this nonsense?" Lillian said before she was hit with a stupefy from behind

Lillian woke several hours later, bound and gagged and tied to a tall post. It was night out and the town was lit with a bonfire, Lillian was about forty feet in the air. They had done an excellent job of binding her as she could get almost no leverage - her arms were above her head making breathing difficult, she had to focus on using her legs to push up to take pressure off her arms and ribcage. Lillian's feet were on a thin spike of iron; the rope seemed to be fused at certain points and any time she attempted to move her body to wiggle free of her bonds the spike she stood on began bending away from her feet, allowing her to dangle in the air, making breathing nearly impossible. The gag was loose enough to breathe but Lillian could not get a single Accio out. She was without wand and without clothes, this was clearly done to embarrass Lillian however they didn't realize that Lillian had never really had a sense of shame about her body and other than a slight chill in the air had no issue with the nudity.

Lillian had a clear view of the town below, all the people of the town, Aberforth included, were sitting on the ground separated into three circles. One circle had one person walking around the circle that would occasionally tap someone on the shoulder and then begin being chased – it appeared to be duck, duck, goose only there was clubs floating around the circle that would randomly hit the "duck" and the "goose". Another circle had formed into two teams and appeared to be playing Red Rover, but there was a small fire built in the center of the ring that whoever ran across would run straight through, they were lucky that no one was wearing clothes or their robes would have caught fire. The third circle was playing what could have been dodgeball but they were using balls made mostly of mud with a rock at the center, some townsfolk already lay on the ground from being knocked out from repeated hits to the head. Jacob Vencion was dressed up as a giant rabbit with an oversized pocket watch and seemed to be responsible for picking people out of the circles and bringing them to an oversized table for tea as well as shooing those that had a cupcake and tea away from the table and back to the game. The cupcakes looked like the same that Lillian had seen in Honeydukes, she suspected the tea was also adulterated with the same controlling substances – it appeared that the victims of this poison needed a steady supply to keep them in line. Lillian wondered if the townsfolk could build up a resistance and how long would it take before someone had enough of themselves back to challenge the queens?

The queens had also set up a giant chess board, it was a horrifically live game of wizarding chess, humans were bound to the chess pieces, by their apparel and their screams Lillian guessed they were muggles, and they were being slaughtered while the two queens giggled. Janice was playing the redhead she had spotted at Dogweed & Deathcap, her face still looked unnaturally smooth, like some magical mask that moved like flesh, just more shiny.

"Oh look sister, our toy has awoken, it's about time you disgusting freak!" shouted Janice. She and her counterpart both sat in thrones on stone slabs that suddenly rose in the air and hovered over to Lillian, they were less than three feet from her now. Janice raised her wand and yanked Lillian's gag out of her mouth. Janice was dressed in a long and elegant blue and white formal robe with what appeared to be magical snowflakes embroidered on the robe, they were made from small sparkly stones and were falling from the white top half of her robe to the dark blue near her feet. She wore a crown made of diamonds and silver; if it was real it was worth more gold than most wizards would ever see. Her counterpart wore a robe that was whitish yellow near the shoulders and went down in a flame like pattern to a bright red at her feet, her crown was a yellowish metal that looked like gold with many diamonds and a large central heart shaped ruby.

"Let me go Janice, you will regret what you are doing" replied Lillian, not shouting, they were close enough now that Janice could have heard Lillian whispering with no trouble.

"Don't you ever use that name you aberration! You really think I'll regret taking the lives of these filthy muggles? They are nothing to me; you think I'd regret hurting the good people of Hogsmeade? They turned their backs on us when you and your little friend set our parents up and had them sent to Azkaban! I regret nothing you filth." Shouted Janice, her voice amplified by her wand. The Queen of hearts shot Janice a look, it was hard to notice with her strange face but it seemed to be a look of fury when Janice mentioned their parents.

"I wasn't talking about them Janice, I'm talking about myself, you will regret what you have done to me, let me go now and I might be merciful" said Lillian. She knew that Janice wouldn't actually free her but she needed to try throwing Janice off while she worked out an escape plan. Janice stood up from her throne and slapped Lillian in the face. Janice was still no older than 13 and her small hands and lack of strength meant that Lillian felt nearly nothing from it and dared to grin at Janice just to piss her off more. Janice pointed her wand at Lillian but the queen of hearts put her arm out blocking Janice, she said no and shook her head before sitting back down in her throne. Janice put her wand into her belt at her right side. The queen of hearts hovered back down to the chess board and beckoned Janice to follow. Janice stood there looking down, not paying attention while Lillian reached out with one foot and managed to grip the handle of Janice's wand with her toes. At that moment from the forbidden forest came a stupefy that shot just past Janice's head, causing her to turn, becoming suddenly aware of Lillian's action, she reached out and grabbed Lillian's leg, in the process Janice slipped off of the stone her throne hovered on, briefly dangling from Lillian's leg before losing her grip and falling to the ground 30 feet below. There was a crunch sound when her body hit the ground, but that was the last sound ever heard from Janice. The Queen of Hearts saw the fall and simply shook her head before saying "Imbecile, why did I bother including her?"

It was that moment when the queen of hearts spoke that a name popped in Lillian's mind, Willow. Willow was the queen of hearts. She didn't look even vaguely the same; she was now much thinner and had red hair, pale skin and grey eyes, she didn't sound the same, the common cockney accent replaced with a refined oxfordshire accent but she smelled the same; that sickly sweet perfume, she acted the same, she was the same this was Willow.

From out of the forest emerged Beatrice, wand aimed at Willow. "I don't know who you are but you need to surrender now!" shouted Beatrice before firing off a stupefy that hit Willows throne as she dove out of the way. There was a full on wizard's duel that slowly worked its way out into the forest, Lillian could see the flashes of light from the wands but had no idea who fired what. Lillian then said Accio wand, a wand flew through the air Lillian caught with her lips. The moment she caught it she knew it didn't feel like her wand, it was Janice's. She aimed it upwards praying that she wouldn't blow her own brains out or her hands before saying Confringo, energy fired out of the tip of her wand and smashed through the post just above her fingertips, she angled the wand down just a hair and Confringo'ed again, hitting below the bindings and breaking the post enough for it to fall free of her bindings, Lillian began to fall as well but she caught her bound hands on the nail she was previously standing on. The pull on her arms was excruciatingly painful and made breathing almost impossible but she swung her legs to the post, wrapping her legs around the post as the nail sensed her escape and fell out of the post, she now dangled upside down. She managed to wiggle first her left hand out of the bindings and then the right, the rope turned to dust as it fell away. Lillian strained to lift herself up and grabbed the post with her arms, she shimmied her way down the post, splinters causing regret for not accio-ing her robes. She finally got down on the ground, and collapsed from exhaustion. She awoke hours later, sitting in one of the queens former thrones, Beatrice sitting on the throne next to her looking like she had gone through hell. She was staring off into the distance, her hair was singed in places and her face was bruised, her robes were cut and she was still bleeding. On Beatrice's other side lay Willow, dead, her mask was peeled off revealing a face that was burned and scarred long before Beatrice got ahold of her. It looked like she had tried to transfigure her face but her lack of magical power and/or experience caused bones to weaken and break, under the mask she looked more like a bulldog that had been skinned than a human; the mask was still smooth and shiny, its eyebrows would occasionally move, the lips moved from a smile to a frown and then to no expression with no a body under it.

Beatrice finally looked to Lillian and began crying "I'm a murderer, Lil, I killed her, I won the battle but I knew she'd never stop, never leave me alone so I killed her"

"You did what you had to, Bea" said Lillian.

"You don't understand Lillian. I used an unforgivable curse! I used Cruciatus" Beatrice said softly.

"Oh my Gods, that is really bad Bea. I have friends that might be able to help you, just give me a little while to contact them-"said Lillian, thinking of Prentiss

"NO! I need to leave before anyone arrives; I'm too young for Azkaban. Oh, when I first arrived I stumbled in the darkness and dropped my wand. When I said Accio wand it didn't respond so I snuck up to where Janice was seated and spotted a wand. I thought it was hers so I grabbed it and went back into the woods to come at them from a different angle but it seems to be yours. I needed a wand so I borrowed it. I have since found mine so here, your wand back" Beatrice said, dropping Lillian's wand on her outstretched hand. Beatrice then began walking away before she Apparated.

Lillian sat their staring at her wand, thinking, my wand, Beatrice used my wand. She used my wand to fight Willow. She used my wand to kill Willow, with an Unforgivable curse. At that moment Aurors started arriving, alerted to strange activity in the region from wizards who had apparated in for business to find the town in a very strange state. There were multiple injuries to wizards including broken bones, bruises, concussions, cuts, frostbite, scrapes, some wizards were still standing around listless waiting to be commanded, all of whom no matter what age were nude and wandless, no one had a memory of what happened. Still more disturbing were the dead muggles and wizards. One of the Aurors, a man Lillian had never seen before looked to Lillian, sitting on the throne and shouted "Oi! Young lady, what is the meaning of this?" More Aurors arrived and several hours of questions followed. It was all just a blur to Lillian but during the interrogation Albus and Aberforth came forward, without being able to verify what happened or where Lillian was during these events. Severus and Hagrid also came forward to speak on Lillian's behalf and to her character but were dismissed as they did not have any knowledge of her whereabouts from the previous night. After a few more hours, just as the sun was setting Lillian was arrested and charged with multiple counts of assault, improper charms, poisoning, torture of muggles and wizards, murder including use of an unforgivable curse. The Aurors in charge did not believe her story about being kidnapped or that Janice and Willow where behind this, no one in the town even recognized the two dead girls, Willows mask had disappeared at some point during the day, record keeping and evidence chains not being high on most wizards priority lists. Lillian was grateful that neither Rubeus nor Severus was present for this scene; they would however know soon as the press was already on site taking photos of the heavy iron manacles being placed on her ankles and wrists. She was stripped of her wand and thoroughly searched before being taken to the ministry and locked in a dark cage to await trial.

She waited in darkness with no sense of the progress of time. There were two others locked up near by, close enough to see their existence but far enough that communication without being overheard by the guard was not possible. Lillian's cage was a bubble made of metal bars interlacing one another and hung three feet off the ground by a thin chain reaching up into a dark ceiling high above. The guard always looked the same, white male wizard bald head dressed in a dark blue robe with wand in one hand and a pocket watch in the other. Every few hours he would be replaced by an exact replica of himself. There were in fact six guards but the ministry at the time only hired guards that looked like that, exactly like that. They were strict observers of the letter of the law within this holding area, prisoners were fed twice daily, each meal identical to the previous one, steak and kidney pie with water, the only change was the level of dirt in the water glass. There were no visitors, there was no communication, there was no magic within these walls. Occasionally the prisoner's were taken out of the room, in Lillian's case for further questioning and twice daily visit to the bucket that served as group toilet. She suspected the others received the same treatment. The questions were always the same, accusations of murder and torture and mass manipulation of the town of Hogsmeade. Lillian would just sit in a chair non responsive to the verbal harassment inflicted by the two Aurors. She had a feeling that they were not being as rough with her as what most prisoner's experienced and would find out years later that Kingsley convinced the Auror's to refrain from enhanced interrogation techniques that were common.

Days, maybe weeks passed with the same routine, no changes occurred until one shift change the guard who looked the same as he always looked but acted differently, wand in one hand but not his usual 15 centimeter oak wand; it was thinner, darker, more pokey looking than club like, and he did not have his pocket watch out. Lillian was let out of her cage and lead to the hallway, but they turned left instead of right, walking through a set of double doors and to an elevator.

"Time for your trial Miss" he said leading her up and to a proper full bathroom, shower and new clothes awaiting her. She looked at him before closing the door, and thought for a moment she saw his iris's glow purple before he winked at her. She showered and shaved (she always had a slight body hair issue from her mom's side of the family) and changed into the grey robes that were provided. She noticed a pocket hidden in the ministry issued clean robe. In the pocket was a dried flower and a walnut sized seed pod with a note attached that simply read wait until after the trial. She left the bathroom, same guard waiting and was led to a large courtroom. There was a bench in the hallway on which Severus and Hagrid sat, bickering over who was at fault for their wayward child.

Lillian entered the courtroom and looked around for a few moments, the room was cavernous and it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the light. There was a chair at the center chains covering the chair, with of all people Lord Datura standing next to it. The stands were nearly full of the members of the Wizengamot, it appeared that there was nearly all of the members, their dark purple robes each with a large silver "W" on them. An elderly man sat with quill and parchment in hand, Lillian thought scribe, before noticing a tall and muscular man with greying hair seated next to Dumbledore, both he and Dumbledore wore solid black robes. Lillian walked down to the chair that was standing in the center of the room and sat down in it, immediately feeling that she was now stuck to the chair. She intentionally avoided looking at Lord Datura fearing she might give something away in front of Dumbledore.

Dumbledore stood up as the chains lightly wrapped themselves around Lillian's wrists, ankles, knees, and waist. The rest of the Wizengamot looked up at Dumbledore and fell silent. "We will begin, This is a criminal hearing of the ninth of August, nineteen hundred and eighty five. The charges are two hundred charges of non lethal poisoning seventy three charges of assault, and twenty three charges of murder of muggles, and lastly use of an Unforgivable curse. Lillian Sarah Hape, student of Hogwarts and seasonal resident of Hogsmeade is the accused, Interrogators are Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Robert Mordred Grimmance, and Madame Amelia Bones, court scribe Gerald Broussau Lacely. Standing for the Accused is Mr. Thomas Allen, school teacher of London. Mr. Allen, I believe you have not had time to confer with your client yet, the court grants you thirty minutes to do so, would you like privacy?"

"Yes your honor," replied Mr. Allen

Dumbledore lightly swirled his wand in the direction of Lillian and Mr. Allen, a bubble formed around them. They could be clearly seen but not a single sound left the sphere.

"Lillian, the charges are pretty strong but the evidence is spotty at best. I am quite confident in our ability to win the majority," said Mr. Allen

"Why are you here? You're a teacher, not a barrister," she replied feeling her heart race with fear.

"Actually I am both, I teach law. I considered going into it on a professional level but then my interests turned in a different direction. How are you doing?"

"Please don't ask," she said, suddenly aware of the charges she was facing and not knowing if she would survive much longer.

"Back to business then" Mr. Allen said before signaling to Dumbledore. The bubble then popped

"Members of the Wizengamot, I think we can dismiss the majority of the charges as none of the people of Hogsmeade can definitively place Miss Hape at the scene of the crime. They cannot place themselves at the scene of the crime either. Yes, she was found there by Aurors, but there was nothing to suggest her being in any position of power or authority except that she was sitting in an elaborate chair. Miss Hape has provided her own recollection of the events to the Auror's who chose to not investigate her statements of what happened and instead chose to prosecute her. The simple truth is that the Auror's office found a convenient target and ignored any chance that there could be another way. The people are angry and demand justice, the Ministry has a single individual that was found near by and why bother with anyone else, tis better to have a bird in the hand than two in the bush." said Mr. Allen

In the darkness someone muttered "might as well with Dumbledore's pet" to which Dumbledore stood, addressing the whole courtroom, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I have heard of concerns of my impartiality in these matters, let me reassure you that I have interrogated people in these halls who were students of mine in the past, it does not affect my judgement. I would also like to remind the court that Miss Hape was found to be physically, mentally, and magically a normal young witch, she is not my pet, she is simply a student. While chronologically she is a minor she is being tried as an adult and henceforth shall have all the rights, restrictions, and regulations that an adult deals with," said Dumbledore.

At this point Mr. Grimmance stood up and said "I would have to agree that there is not sufficient evidence for the majority of the charges but Miss Hape has a questionable history with regard to the law and the truth. Her last appearance before the ministry resulted in a disappearance and temporary declaration of death, which there is no official account of. I can agree to dismissing all but one charge, that being use of an unforgivable curse. We do have Miss Hapes wand which has been tested and found to have used that curse. Miss Hape, can you explain your use of this curse?"

"Character assassination Robert? That is low of you and has nothing to do with the charges at hand. Yes, the wand was used, but by who? Anyone can pick up a dropped wand and use it for any number of things, Lillian has given testimony as to where she was and what really happened, why are the Auror's not investigating this?" Mr. Allen said.

"And what about the poisoning, based off a recipe she herself created, was this a new mixture, did the familiar scent convince your victims to trust you?" asked Mr. Grimmance,

"There is simply no proof that Miss Hape had anything to do with that. My client did nothing other than be at the wrong place at the wrong time," said Mr. Allen

There was a great deal of murmuring in the stands at this point, Madame Bones and Mr. Grimmance leaning back into the shadows to discuss the charges.

"Thank you Mr. Allen, do you have any further testimony or witnesses?" asked Dumbledore.

"No sir," replied Mr. Allen

"The Wizengamot will discuss the charges now," Albus once again bubbled Lillian and Mr. Allen.

"You sound like a conspiracy theorist" Lillian said.

"I find conspiracy theory interesting" replied Mr. Allen.

"Can we talk freely?" asked Lillian

"Yes, I have a second bubble up," Mr. Allen replied

"Good. How is Prentiss?" she asked

"You really do have it for him," he replied. "Don't worry, one way or another you'll be seeing him soon"

Lillian's had instinctively rested on the location of the pocket, feeling the shape of the dried flower and its seed pod. Dumbledore and the rest of the Wizengamot then turned around, all standing and looking at Lillian. Madame Bones then said to the room "all in favor of dismissal of charges raise your hands" she counted the hands which included Dumbledore and herself and a scattering of others "all in favor of conviction?" the rest of the wizards and witches raised their hands, nearly forty. Dumbledore looked to Lillian and spoke "Lillian Sarah Hape, you have been convicted of use of the unforgivable curse, specifically the killing curse. You are hereby expelled from Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry and sentenced to a lifetime confinement in Azkaban," Lillian felt like fainting

Two Auror's approached Lillian's chair, one of them was the guard that had escorted her to the courtroom and the other was Kingsley Shacklebolt. Lillian rose gradually from the chair, its chains releasing slowly. Leg and wrist shackles were placed on her, each of the men took a hand and began walking to the doorway, wands drawn. Once outside they reached an elevator shaft that had never had an elevator and began floating upwards until reaching the roof of a building in downtown London. At roof level Kingsley stepped forward and was immediately hit with a stunning curse, knocking him out. Lillian turned to look where the curse came from and spotted a wizard she knew only as bravo with his wand drawn. The guard next to Lillian tapped her shackles and they fell off. He then reached up and peeled his face off, it was Prentiss, wearing the mask previously worn by Willow. She immediately reached out to him and kissed him hard on the lips.

"Let's save that till we are safe. Do you have the flower?" he asked

Lillian reached into her pocket and pulled out the dried flower and seed pod holding them in front of her. "Put it down on the ground" he said before he took out a vial of a clear fluid, uncorked it and poured it onto the flower. The flower immediately burst into flame. "Toss the seed pod in," she did so and the flame roared into a blue vortex that then became a gateway, a door appeared before them. Lillian reached out and opened the door before stepping into the darkness beyond. For a moment all she saw was darkness, and the foyer for Lord Monkshood's home. The floor was a lapis blue and marble white checkerboard pattern that led to a grand staircase, thick dark wooden banisters to either side of the stairs, a deep blue carpet running up the staircase. The walls were once white but seemed to have a thin layer of dust darkening them, dark blue drapes with golden tiebacks next to the windows and ivory sheers protecting the eye from the void beyond. There was a bust over the front door that looked Greek and had what appeared to be the skeleton of a bird sitting on top of its head. The doors to the rooms on the first floor were also a dark wood, probably oak to match the railings. There was a dusty chandelier hanging above, not a single candle lit yet the ambient light matched daylight. Lord Monkshood looked to Lillian and said "sorry about the dust, house elves can't survive here and I'm terrible at cleaning. You are now technically a legal adult, expelled from Hogwarts, and an escaped convict. Thomas will be here soon to discuss our next move assuming you wish to continue with our assistance,"

"Why are you helping me?" Lillian asked.

"I've been thinking about everything, I've been thinking a lot and I've decided to follow my heart, Lillian, I love you, and depending on our options I'd like you to stay here with me for a while," He leaned in and kissed her passionately, arms wrapping around her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled his body against her own, hands sliding downward. Lillian had snogged before but not like this, this was true passion, this was something she felt in her core, she wanted Lord Monkshood down to her core. Just as Lillian was about to suggest going upstairs the fireplace roared to life and Lord Datura stepped out.

"Sorry to interrupt, Lillian you are going to Egypt,"

"What?" said Lillian, her head turning to face Thomas but her body did not shift, her hands not wanting to let go of Prentiss's hips.

"There is a school of witchcraft and wizardry there, I talked to a friend and he can get you in, assuming that you want to continue your education,"

"I...I don't know, I need to think," she said, conflict forming between her heart that wanted to move in with Prentiss and her mind that saw an interesting opportunity. Her loins were not helping her head. She felt like she had the knowledge right now to graduate from a school like Hogwarts and didn't really need to learn more but she wanted more. She had heard of the Egyptian school, which did not have a set location but apparently traveled. The three had dinner together, a much more casual affair than the first time she ate here. Conversation was light and about everything other than the conviction or school. After dinner Thomas wished them a good night and left.

Lillian bathed in a luxurious claw footed tub that had been carved out of marble, the water sweetly scented with a water lily floating on the surface, milk and honey added for her skin. She dried off, dressed in a short nightgown that she had retrieved from the wardrobe in the guest room, it was white satin with lace on the breasts. She brushed her hair before heading to bed, not the guest room but to Prentiss's room. She found him there lying in bed with a glass of red wine and reading a book on hieroglyphs, dressed in purple satin pajamas, a phonograph playing instrumental jazz; he had not noticed her enter.

"May I join you?" she asked. Prentiss dropped the book as he looked her over, a beauty blooming at night like a moon flower. He stood up and walked to her, noticing for the first time that she was just a hair taller than he was, her dark hair framing the pale skin in the candlelight. she took his hand and kissed his knuckles, his hands were only slightly larger than hers. He brushed her cheek with one finger before kissing her on the lips with hunger. They sat down on the bed, facing one another, she wrapped her legs around his waist the heat from her loins evident against the raging stiffness of his cock. He cupped her left breast while his tongue wrestled with hers before rolling her onto her back. She pulled his satin pajama shirt off and kissed her way down from his lips to his collarbone, then to one nipple before giving to other her attention. She then kissed her way down to his navel before pulling off his pajama pants. His cock stood tall and proud, waiting to be enveloped by her. She began kissing his cock before licking it and finally putting the majority of it in her mouth. She could feel his pulse with her tongue and it was raising in sync with her own. The night was filled with their passion and pleasure and a loss of control, they made love like wild animals knowing only pleasure and the desire for more. They fell asleep in each others arms, carnal lust satiated for the night. Morning came and Lillian woke to the smells of breakfast before her, her eyes opened she saw a tray of two eggs, runny side up, a bagel with cream cheese, and sausage links along with a rose in a vase waiting for her with Prentiss sitting in a chair next to the bed smiling.