A/N: This just came to me the other day. I've read fanfictions where Harry is a descendant of Slytherin through his mother, so I wanted to explore that. I wrote this within an hour just for fun, and it is unbeta'd. I might write more in this (slight) AU.

Lily's Gift

"Your daughter is very bright, you know," her primary school teachers would tell her parents.

"She's a smart girl."

"Lily is a joy to have in my classroom."

"Your daughter is a gifted child."

Gifted. She heard that term a lot. Lily suspected it made Tuney jealous sometimes, because the teachers all adored Lily. She was always the favorite student in school. They always told her she was gifted. They didn't know how right they were.

Lily could do strange things. Things that couldn't be explained. Her sister feared her abilities, and her parents didn't understand them. Lily ignored what they all said, and just tried to see what she could do. She wouldn't know what it was she was doing (though she would suspect it) until she met a certain boy from Spinner's End.

But even he didn't know about her most well-kept secret gift.

She discovered it one weekend when Tuney was staying at a friend's house. She went to play by herself at the park. She dropped down onto the grass, and much to her surprise, heard a voice.

Watch it! You almost landed on me.

Lily looked around in confusion, until her sharp green eyes settled on a small, emerald colored snake that somewhat blended in with the grass. "Oh, I'm sorry," was her automatic response. "Wait, what? Did you just talk?" was what came out once her mind processed what was going on.

You can understand me?

Lily had never known a snake could sound surprised. "Uh… I guess so. I hope I haven't gone mad," the child said. But, since she was a child, and one that could make odd things happen, she really didn't question it all that much.

I never thought I would meet a Speaker. It is an honor.

"Oh, well, it's lovely to meet you. I've never gotten to talk to a snake before, so this is new to me too," the girl told the snake.

"Lily! Where are you? It's time to go home for dinner!" she could hear her father yelling.

"I have to go now. It was nice talking to you," Lily said quickly. She scrambled to her feet, smoothed out her dress, and skipped over to her father.

When Lily went off to Hogwarts, there were so many new and exciting things happening that she didn't think much of her ability to speak to snakes. She had assumed it was just a magic thing, and so pushed it out of her mind. She never brought it up with anyone, and the more she saw of the Slytherins, the less she wished to associate with snakes. So she just let herself forget about it.

"Miss Evans is very bright," her professors would say about her when they discussed her.

"She is such an intelligent girl."

"I truly enjoy teaching her."

"Lily Evans is a gifted witch."

Lily Evans graduated from Hogwarts with high marks, and she began her life with James Potter. She would have never pictured herself with him, but she was happy with him. She missed Sev, but he had chosen his path, and she had chosen her's. Some friendships just weren't meant to last.

One day, while gardening, a pregnant Lily Evans spotted a snake. It had been years since she had last talked to one, but it still came naturally to her. When her husband heard her hissing to a snake, he was shocked. She expressed confusion at his shock, and he explained to her what talking to snakes truly meant.

"Only descendants of Slytherin can be Parseltongues, Lily," James told her gravely.

Parseltongue. There was a word for what she could do, just like how the word "witch" described her magical abilities.

"But I'm muggleborn," Lily responded.

"Maybe you're descended from a Squib. Most pureblood families would disown Squibs, and Squibs would try to forget about the Wizarding world. They wouldn't have told their spouse or children about magic, so the knowledge of magic would have died with them," James explained.

After a lot of research, they did indeed discover a link to Salazar Slytherin in her Family Tree. They discussed it, and agreed that they should keep it a secret. After all, nothing good could come from other people knowing that she was an Heir of Slytherin.

The proudest moment of Lily's short life was when she held her newborn son in her arms. As she looked into eyes that were identical to her own, she could only hope that he wouldn't share her abilities. After all, Harry was already in enough danger because of the Prophecy. If word got out that he was the Heir of Slytherin… she didn't want to think about what would happen.

Lily Evans was gifted, but not gifted enough to stop Voldemort from killing her and her husband. She was able to protect her son, though, so that was enough for her. The secret of Lily's gift died the night of October 31st, with the deaths of James and Lily Potter.