Hi. This starts in the Triwizard Tournament year. I hope you enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Only going to say this once. I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to the series, other than this fanfic.

Every time I can, I will tie a song to the chapter, be it connected or just something I like. Listen if you will.

IAMX- S.H.E.

You have been left alone
A creature of innocence
You lie for what you're worth
And struggle with your confidence
And when your devil complains
And tears you up, to start again
And when you're lying on your stage
And nothing works, just living hurts
Forget, forget
With the secret harmonic emotion
And so we meet again
Two players in a puppet show
Don't cry for audience
There's no one that can take you home
Forget, forget

The moment that Aly woke up, she felt something was off. The bed underneath her stiff body, the light, even the air, seemed strange.

Somehow, she knew she shouldn't be here. It was like one of those half-intuitive, half-remembered feelings you sometimes got for no real reason.

Not wanting to open her eyes, she stretched her arms out to the sides. Some bed space on either side, then air. And then, on her left, something large, round, knobby and covered in several layers of fabric.

She opened her eyes a bit, at first not understanding. Then, looking higher, past the... knee... she saw a man with long, pitch black hair and perpetually pale skin. Maybe, if she hadn't been so surprised to see him, she would have cursed her sleepy eyes for not letting her get a better look at him before she jerked her hand away and rolled to the other side of the bed... only to land on the floor with an audible thump. Yelping, - that floor's cold! - she jumped up.

Blinking a few times, red with embarrassment, Aly looked the man over.

Wow. World's largest man-bat hybrid.

Grudgingly, she decided he was okay-looking, what with the piercing black eyes, expressively large nose and a sculpted mouth.

Those eyes met her brown ones for a second, but then both of them looked over to a large doorway in which another, much older man stood, chuckling.

"I see our guest is up. Yes, Severus? I hope you didn't give her too much of a scare." the old man said, walking over and taking a seat on Aly's bed.

"Not in the least." replied the dark-clad bat (Aly couldn't help but think of him as one) in a smooth, velvety voice. Aly frowned- that accent should sound familiar. Someone else spoke exactly like that. Or a bunch of someones. Problem was, she couldn't remember.

That brought her mind to an almost complete stop. Was there anything she could remember?

Gasping, Aly sat down hard, bouncing a little on the bed.

"Are you alright?" asked the old man, concerned. Same accent.

"No." turning, she looked at both of them, eyes huge and scared. "Where am I?"

Half an hour later, Aly sat in the infirmary, completely dumbfounded.

According to the old man- Professor Dumbledore, as he introduced himself- she was at Hogwarts. A school that specialized in teaching frigging magic. Dumbledore had told her more, but most of it she didn't hear. She was too busy trying to process the first few sentences that had come out of his mouth- "Severus found you on school grounds, unconscious. The house elves and Madam Pomfrey did their best to patch you up- I am told you were quite... ruffled.'

The bat-man just sat there and listened, watching with interest as Aly's pale face changed to various shades of sickly colors and she stuttered, lower lip quivering. What? She figured at least one of the trio was completely loopy, be it her or the two 'Professors'.

Dumbledore continued talking. "Now that your question has been answered to the best of my capability at this moment, would you be so kind as to tell us who you are?"

Aly blinked. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I can't remember."

"Nothing at all?"

"No... well, my name. Aly Parton. I'm sixteen."

Dumbledore sighed. "Perhaps Professor Snape can help you with that, but later. We don't have much time before the students arrive." Seeing Aly's confused look, he smiled. "Yes. The students are coming today. Severus, would you be so kind as to tell her how you found her? I have matters to attend to."

Dumbledore was almost out the door when he turned. "Aly, would you please take a seat tonight, for the time being, with Professor Snape at dinner? Just in case. Ask him about it."

With a stern look at Severus the clearly said be nice, Dumbledore dissapeared down the hall.

After a brief silence, Severus spoke. "I happened upon you this morning, unconscious at the top of the Astronomy tower. It was very... surprising." he drawled, face expressionless but for a slight quirk of one eyebrow at the end. Aly grinned. He was, in a way, captivating.

"Do I amuse you, Miss Parton?"

"Slightly."

"How so?"

"Dunno."

"Well then, until you do know, please keep it to yourself."

Aly pouted. Sure, she'd smiled, but he acted as if she'd done something horribly wrong and unacceptable.

"I wasn't laughing at you... um, Professor Snape. I apologize if that was the impression you got."

Snape didn't say anything, and another uneasy pause followed.

"Professor Dumbledore mentioned something about a table?"

Snape huffed. "Indeed. Today happens to be the day that the students arrive."

"Cool, when?"

"That will be in approximateley half an hour."

Looking out of one of the huge windows at a beautiful landscape, cast into high contrast by the sun's setting rays, Aly guessed. "Dinner?"

"A welcoming feast."

At the words "Dinner" and "Feast", Aly's stomach growled loudly.

"Excuse me, Professor."

Snape didn't answer. Just kept looking at her in that unnerving way.

Guess he isn't much of a conversationalist.

"Miss Parton, if you require to clean up before dinner, I recommend you do it now. The lavatory is that way." He pointed to a door at the far side of the infirmary.

Nodding thanks, Aly wandered over to the door. Now that she thought about it, she didn't even know what she looked like.

Seeing her reflection in a mirror didn't bring any flash of recognition. In fact, she didn't feel anything at all as she studied herself. Brown eyes. Blonde, wavy hair that came down to her chin in a grown-out bob. Round face. Fat lips. A kind of wide-eyed stare, as if she were permanently surprised. Smudged eye makeup, apparently the remains of mascara and some black liner.

She was slightly skinnier than normal, with wide hips and an okay figure, mostly. Tight-fitting jeans and a billowy white peasant blouse. Huge yellow boots.

Washing off the worst of the makeup mess, she studied the numerous tiny veins showing through her skin- under her eyes and eyebrows, along her jawline, spanning across her temples. The paleness was even worse then Snape's, she noted.

Overall, she decided it was a good enough looking face and an okay body. Heading back to Snape, Aly wondered just what kind of rabbit hole she had somehow fallen into. And wether there was someone to guide her out.

Yahoo! It's a start, right?

-Val