Okay this is my first ever ever ever fanfiction, and I hope that you like it!. This story is about a girl, Francesca Greenwood, as a student at Hogwarts. The story starts when the books start, when Harry begins Hogwarts, though Francesca is 2 years older than Harry.
It is documenting her love affair with Snape and running along the same timeline as the books do. This is the first chapter, so I hope you enjoy!
The characters in Harry Potter are not mine, this is just for a bit of fun so no taking me to court please!!!!
It was the start of another year at Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. On platform 9 and 3/4s, children of all ages where bustling with their bags and trunks, kissing their mothers goodbye and clambering onboard the Hogwarts express.
Amongst the hub of people was the 11 year old Harry Potter with the Weasly twins and their little brother, Ron – who like Harry, was just about to start his educational career at the school.
After a brief introduction to the little Potter, the twins made their way down the train, stopping every so often to say a start of year hello to their fellow students before sliding into a compartment with their best friend Lee Jordan and a few other students.
"Well, well well, if it isn't the Weasley twins" – came a greeting from the corner of the cabin.
"Seska Greenwood, how have you been!?" Fred grinned
"Been hard studying all summer?" George added with a wink.
Seska stood up and gave each of the twins a squeeze hello and sat back down.
"Oh yeah, really hard" she retorted, rolling her eyes.
Seska was in the same year as Fred and George, but unlike the twins, she was in Hufflepuff house. She was fairly tall with a slim frame and ivory skin. Her purple-ish black hair curled down to her waist, and her similarly purple eyes, framed by thick, long lashes peered under her long fringe. Her full name was Francesca Greenwood, but had been referred to as Seska ever since the twins dubbed her that on their first day at Hogwarts.
"How about you boys?" She asked. "How was your summer?
"Oh, you know, the usual stuff," Fred replied
"Picking on Ron, that kind of thing" added George.
"We told him you have to wrestle a troll when you start the school" Fred laughed.
"Oh you two are terrible! You'll give that kid a complex!!" Seska giggled, swatting at them with a magazine.
"Oh, and to add to the usual, we helped Harry Potter onto the train with his bags" George said airily, as if helping famous wizards was a regular occurrence.
"Oh yeah", Seska said, raising one eyebrow in disbelief.
"No, I'm being serious!!!" Fred grinned
"Yeah, he's in a compartment with our brother!" George added with excitement.
"Well I guess he must be the right age to join Hogwarts…well, what do you know! What house do you reckon he will be in?"
"Gryffindor, blatantly!" Fred replied
"Nah, you see," Seska started "I think its about time Hufflepuff had some fame in its house, and besides, it's actually the best house!"
The twins snorted
"Yeah right," George scoffed "What has Hufflepuff got to offer!"
Seska smiled "You may always be the ones in the spot light, but Hufflepuffs are the real heroes behind the scenes!"
The three bickered for a bit longer, before the twins turned their attention to tarantula in Lee Jordan's hands. The train steamed into the hills on towards Hogwarts. Soon it was pulling into the station at the other end. Having put their robes on over their clothes, the twins, lee and Seska hopped off the train.
"Firs' years, firs' years" The familiar voice of Hagrid booming over the crowds to gather the new students and guide them on their traditional boat journey to the great hall.
"I better go" Seska said, hugging both the twins and Lee again
"Don't forget the bet" Fred called after her, "If He's in Gryffindor…"
"I know, I know, 20 Knuts, see you" she called behind her, climbing onto the carriage with the rest of her housemates, making their way up to the school.
Inside the great hall, the extravagant beginning of term decorations where up as the throng of students, teachers and ghosts filed into the hall, chatting excitedly as they caught up on their summer holidays. Seska took a seat on the Hufflepuff table next to Cederic Diggory and her friend Jess Smith.
"Alright Cederic" Seska smiled "Have a good summer?"
"Yeah, thanks, practicing seeking, I'm determined to keep Gryffindor in top shape for the Quiddich matches this year, how about you?"
"Yeah, I've had a pretty good summer actually. I've just been looking after Immogen and Brendon really, but it means dad's not so stressed you know?"
Cederic nodded, "You're so good, you know if your father ever needs any help at home our family has offered our support"
"Yes, thanks Cedric…"
Seska was about to continue but someone caught her eye from the line of teachers sitting down at the front table. Severus Snape. Seska held her breath as her stomach tied itself into knots. Snape was taking his seat, and looked up straight at her. Seska raised one eyebrow and smiled at him. Snape's expression didn't change from his usually tight lip, but she thought she saw his eyes smile.
"…what do you reckon Ses?"
Seska stirred from her daze and looked at Jess next to her. "What?"
Jess tutted "honestly, I've been chatting to you for a good 10 minuets, where you even listening to me!? I was just saying Harry Potter is supposed to be starting this year"
"Sorry..." Seska grinned, glancing back up at Snape, who had turned his head away to the crowd of new years waiting to be sorted.
Before she could reply, the chatter had died down from everyone and the sorting hat begun its traditional introduction song.
After the rendition, the complimentary applause followed, and the first new student was pushed forward to try the sorting hat
"HUFFLEPUFF" the hat shouted. There was some general excited chatter from Seska's table, and some students stood up and welcomed the blond haired girl as she sat down on the end of the table. Seska smiled with everyone, glancing back at Snape again, who's attentions where still focused elsewhere. Was he avoiding her eye on purpose? She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Maybe it was just her imagination.
"POTTER, HARRY!" the hat shouted out. A hum of chatter suddenly arose through everyone
"I told you Ses!" Jess whispered at her friend. Seska didn't reply, she was watching Snape's reaction out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to tighten his whole face at the mention of Harry's name.
"Hey Seska!" A voice hissed from somewhere behind her. She turned around and it was Fred and George grinning at her "The moment of truth! Hope you have overdraft facility on your bank, because you're going to be in debt!" Seska grinned back, half heartedly and nodded, not being able to concentrate on anything but the potions master.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted, the level of noise increasing in the hall, as everyone chatted excitedly.
The twins rubbed their fingers together to motion money in their hands in Seska's direction.
Seska groaned and gestured her middle finger at Fred and George.
"What are they up to?" Jess asked her
"Just a stupid bet, I'm down 20 Knuts now, I bet them Harry would be in Hufflepuff," Seska sighed.
"You lot are terrible," Jess laughed.
The remaining students where sorted and the dinning began. Seska picked at her food, she had lost her appetite.
"You're quiet, what's up!" Jess asked.
"Oh nothing, just thinking about dad, that's all" Seska lied
Jess rubbed Seska's arm in sympathy. "I'm sure they're getting on fine. Immogen will be here next year, so that will take some strain off him, and you do all you can, you really help him."
Seska felt guilty as soon as Jess had finished what she had said. There she was thinking about herself when here father was struggling trying to earn a wage and single handily look after her little sister Immogen. The family had been grieving her mother for a year and a half now, since she was half way through her first year. Even though it had been so long, Seska was still trying to get used to the idea.
This was the worst start to the year ever, Seska decided. She felt guilty, snubbed and down hearted. But, having great skill in masking her problems, she put on a big smile.
"Yeah, you're right, thanks" she beamed back at her friend, tucking into her jam rolly polly.
Seska decided to taken one last look at Snape. Glancing up, she noticed his eyes where fixed on the Gryffindor table. She followed his gaze over to Harry Potter, who had just pulled his hand to his forehead, wincing in pain. Why is he more interested in Harry Potter than me!? She wondered angrily.
After everything had been cleared away, Dumbledore stood up to give this welcoming speech, after that, the school song was sung in as many different tunes as possible. Seska sang as loud as she could to the happiest tune she could think of, trying to cheer herself up.
On their way out of the hall up to bed, the Weasly twins bumped into her.
"I do believe you owe us 40 Knuts" Fred grinned
"40! I only agreed on 20!" Seska exclaimed.
"Well there are 2 of us here, so that would be 20 each!"
"No way! I don't have that sort of money!" Seska exclaimed. "It's 20 or nothing!"
"We'll discuss this later!" George said, "night Sesk" and with that the pair made their way up to the winding staircase to the Gryffindor dorms.
Seska ended up dragging behind all her friends due to talking to the twins. She walked down the corridor when she felt someone push paster her. Towering above her, Snape brushed past looking like he had somewhere important to be. Seska looked up at him, and his eyes slid to the side to meet hers, before he walked ahead.
Seska kept staring after the professor as he walked out of sight.
"Hey beautiful" a pair of arms slid around her waist. Seska jumped and threw the arms from around her.
"It's just me!" said a tall, handsome looking Hufflepuff.
"Jack, you scared me half to death!" she said, letting him put his arms around her again.
"You never said hello to me yet this term, I tried to talk to you at the dinner, but you looked pre-occupied."
"Well I'm not now am I" Seska smiled, letting him escourt her to the Hufflepuff common room, taking one last look over her shoulder to where Snape was.
That night, Seska lay in bed. All she could do was think about the Potions master. She cast her mind back to the previous year.
It was the summer term, just before the school was about to break up for summer. Seska was in the dungeon for detention with Snape. The candles flickered around the room, casting shadows off the professor's face as he scribbled things down with his quill. Seska had a potion to make as her punishment for giving him cheek in the lesson that afternoon.
Seska glanced over to the professor as he busied himself with writing. She had noticed something change in his attitude towards her recently, she could almost call it chemistry between them. When they back-chatted in class, it had a fiery passion to it, unlike any of the disputes he had with other students…and she was sure she had seen him look at her when he thought she wasn't watching.
"SHIT!"
Seska cried, dropping the implement she was using to stir the mixture. She clutched her hand in pain, wiping the rest of the spilt mixture off her sleeve onto the side of the pot.
Snape lept up.
"I said counter clockwise, are you deaf as well as dumb!"
Seska didn't reply, she was still holding her hand in pain.
Snape was at her side
"Did it touch you?" he asked, with slight annoyance in his voice.
Seska nodded.
"You better put some antidote on, it will scar otherwise"
Snape went to a cupboard and brought out a bottle with a fancy lable on it. He exhaled, in a weary sort of way, as if this was a complete nuisance to his day.
"Hold your hand out Francesca," he instructed. Seska thought this was rather odd, as he usually addressed his pupils either by their last name or as 'boy' or 'girl' – never first name.
Snape gingerly mopped the burn with the antidote before waving his want to bandage it up. Once he had finished, he still had Seska's hand in his. She looked up into his eyes, which where fixed on her.
Snape lifted his hand to her face and brushed some of her dark hair that had fallen behind her ear.
In a moment, they where passionately kissing, Seska's arms entwined with his. They kissed for what seemed an eternity, feverishly, hands wandering where they shouldn't.
There was a sudden bang as the implement slid from where it had been leaning against the cauldron, and the two jumped apart. Seska leaned back on a desk, heart pounding, wiping their mixed saliva off her mouth, and straightening her skirt.
"This detention is over!" Snape shouted.
Seska quickly gathered up her books and ran out of the dungeon.
That was the last time she had spoken to Snape. She had avoided him for the rest of the last week, and had not seen him since she had been away for summer.
Seska looked up to the ceiling where she lay, wondering what this year would bring for her and the potions master.