Warnings: AU, fem/independent/badassHarry.

Pairings: not decided

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, but JKR does. And she rocks :D

Note: (and warning as well) English is only my second language. I have to apologize in advance for my mistakes. This is also my very first fanfic, so bear with me, please :)) That means that Reviews are loved and appreciated, and if someone could check my lines and tell me whether they're grammatically wrong or not – and stuff like that – would be most kind of you.

Story Warning: it starts slow.

LOST AND FOUND

Chapter One

Nothing in particular

It was an ordinary day, only 24 hours of a year, of all eternity. Not one cloud dared to obscure the sparkling and blindingly blue sky of that day in June. It was pleasantly warm and maybe that was the reason for so many to go outside. And so the streets of London were quite busy – no, wait. They always were.

But today everything was just buzzing with energy, and even the air was full with something heavy. Something not many could understand, for they couldn't even feel it. It was just there, like a shadow looming over you when you are sleeping: your subconscious knows it's there, but it is still out of your reach. Or at least you cannot comprehend it with your rational mind.

London, however, was always quite the spectacular city, glorious in itself. Many gathered here: people with dreams, with ambitions, with goals. People loved, hated, grieved, laughed in this huge city, feeding it their energy. The power of their humanity.

It could be felt anywhere and everywhere, though to different extent. But the centre of the city breathed, lived on its own. And yet, sometimes some people could still feel the scent of burned wood, still could hear the screams of fire victims. Because London was special, so was it's history. Especially the fire in 1666.

The exact facts of the fire? Nobody knew them, or at least they weren't in London. And even if they were, they uttered no word about it. Why? And most importantly: Where were they?

But – to be quite honest – not many cared about facts and secrets nowadays. Well, those bustling around the streets didn't seem to, and maybe that was fine too. Since ignorance is a bliss. Or so they thought. Or so she thought.

However, she had no time to get too philosophical – again –, since she had to hurry up to get to the café in time, because if she didn't, she might as well avoid that place. Not that she liked tardiness, quite the opposite, but things just kept happening around her. Strange occurrences with no explanation whatsoever.

The girl stepped out of her flat – which she rented for the duration of the summer – and sprinted down the old stairs, careful not to brush the mouldy wall with her elbows or bag and became one with the crowd of Oxford Street. On her way she pulled up her long and somewhat curly – and untameable – black hair into a loose ponytail. She was trying her best not to bump into anyone, but that didn't quite work, since she had to be pretty pushy in order to get from one point to the other, especially in the masses of tourists. Oh, how much she hated them: noisy, nosy, hyperactive people with cameras and the like. And that meant photos – and that in turn meant that she had to do everything in order to not be on those pictures. It was plainly a hell of a work.

But she managed to get to the café without being late and that in itself was a miracle. It also meant that she could keep her morning job – which she desperately needed – for another day. So, she entered the small establishment, went to the staffroom to put on her frilly skirt-like apron, her nametag and started looking for her boss, whom she found at the counter.

The man was sex on legs, prince charming and Lucifer in one person. She had no problems with that, however she was wary of him. Because he was good looking, and she had problems with handsome males: they were arrogant, rude and they wanted to hit on her. Now that didn't bode well. Hitting on her? Just no way. Because then she just wanted to hit something. Hard. Preferably a certain part of his anatomy – and castrating him with that single motion. Alas, she couldn't do that, not yet.

"Where have you been, Lily?" asked her boss, Alan, not even turning to give her his full attention.

The emerald eyed girl huffed and took in the interior of the café, spotting a young lady with a laptop before her, still not served. In her she saw her own escape route.

"I am not late, Mr. Richter! Now please..."

But the man was bold and cruel to interrupt her – therefore delaying her escape. The bastard.

"Just how many times do I have to tell you not to call me so? It's Alan to you, Lily." His smile was blinding, but the girl didn't really care. She would have, is she had any sunglasses with her. Well, she didn't, so...

"As many times as I have to tell you to keep this strictly professional. And it is still Miss Jameson to you, Sir. Now please excuse me." with that she marched away to greet the lady with her most charming smile, which was a fake of course, but it served well in angering her boss even further.

These banters were not that rare, but they kept her on edge and wary of everything and everybody around her. And the kept her entertained too, which was important, since her job here was not so interesting. She just had to plaster a winning smile on her face, serve the clients, act nice with the other assistants, and then leave. She needed the money not because to buy food and keep herself going, but to avoid suspicion.

After all she had that certain bank account, which held quite the sum, illegal or not. Since money was just that: money. Nobody could track her moves, since she did everything about her personality, fortune and background in a not so ordinary way. But that was her way and nobody questioned it.

And then came noon, which meant she could finally leave the café and head for her afternoon job at the nearby library. Getting these jobs was risky, but she miraculously managed it. Crossing the street she didn't see the lone figure in the crowd that seemed follow her.

She put on her librarian uniform – a white chemise, midnight blue skirt, and nametag –, let her hair down and brushed it (not that it did any good!) and exited the staffroom, taking her seat at her desk. She switched her computer on, and looked out of the window behind her for a moment. She turned back, and logged in with her password.

There were drawbacks to this job too, like the most unpleasant: chatting. Talking was fine, but bringing up topics like school, films, music and books was insane.

'Who would talk about books while having a job at a library?' she thought somewhat bitterly, but she still answered every question the others had. She had to admit though, that this job was not only monotonous, but rather boring as well. Not that it bothered her, but it bothered others and when the others were bothered, they bothered her, and then she was bothered!

So she answered and asked the others about things too, but thankfully her place was near both the bookshelves and the entrance, so that meant people. Not her colleagues, but visitors, and answering their queries was a much easier thing to do. All she had to do was to check names on her computer, ask for ID cards, give directions and mundane things like that, so being friendly was not really a problem. After all, they wouldn't even remember her, would they?

She was sitting at her desk, bending over it and checking some of the printed papers when a shadow hovered over her.

"May I request your assistance?" the shadow had a voice, and what a voice! Sinful silk, melting chocolate. And dark – darker than death maybe, and yet sharper than any blade you could find.

The girl startled and looked up at the man, though not hurrying up the process. She took him in slowly and every part of him: from the black trousers to the green button-down, but when she took a look at his face, she just froze. It wasn't his pale skin, or crooked and quite big nose that shocked her into silence, but those eyes... They held no emotion, and yet they were so intense that they set her very soul on fire. Those eyes didn't look at her, but into her. They were deep and dark, like tunnels. Tunnels that had no light on one end, but you were the light on the other.

And then her mind started to reboot – finally.

"Of course, sir. Please ask away."

The man continued to look at her, his gaze unmoving, without blinking. And it scared her, but she managed to mask that feeling and discomfort pretty well.

"I am looking for a book from Gaston Leroux. His most notable one."

The voice of the man was a torture: it made her shiver, but in an unpleasant way. There was something about this man which caused her to be edgy. Very much so.

"So in other words, you are looking for The Phantom of the Opera. Well then, I need your library card to check you in, sir." she started clicking here and there with the mouse, trying to seem busy so that she didn't have to look into those black tunnels.

"I am afraid I do not possess a... library card."

'Oh, damn it!' she thought miserably and swallowed. Just her luck, really. But at least she refrained from cursing aloud, which was quite the deed.

"At least that's something I can help you with..." and then she stopped, before she said something even ruder. She cleared her throat and tried to pretend that the previous seconds never happened. No such luck in that department. "Yes, well. I'll need your name, your ID for clarification and that's it."

She opened a new file, copied the standard registry and got ready to fill in the gaps.

"Tobias Prince and here you are."

She sensed uncertainty and coldness from this man when he uttered his name. She hastily looked up at him, not knowing whether this malice was directed at her, or not.

'What a unique name he has...'

Those eyes trapped her once again, but this time she didn't let herself to be a doe caught in the headlights: she sharpened her gaze, though she didn't glare at the stranger. Yet. She just took the ID card with such ferocity that even the stoic man seemed to be surprised, even if for just a second.

She glanced at the plastic card, checked what she needed then she gave it back without looking at the man. She filled in the gaps quickly and put on a fake smile.

"Everything is in order, sir, have a nice day." she sputtered and started bending over her papers once again, trying desperately to forget the man. Who chuckled once. Darkly.

'Whoa there... Did he just chuckle? At me? And darkly...? Who is he – Dracula or what?'

"Actually," he droned somewhat amusedly "I am need of your help to get to the mentioned book."

And that was the exact moment she choked on her own saliva. She looked up at him once again, though now with the 'are you serious?' look.

Up went an eyebrow at her childish look.

One of her colleagues sent her a Look, and that got her to finally move. She stood up and started walking down the aisles. It was not a big deal to manoeuvre between the bookshelves, since everything was topically arranged and in alphabetic order.

'But what's with this man?' she asked herself. 'It's like... I don't know. Like he has never seen a library before. Or is he just teasing me? And oh, gee... I can feel his eyes burning a damn hole into the back of my head! Troublesome, troublesome...'

She turned left, then started gathering pace but the man could easily keep up. After all, he was quite tall, in fact, he was towering over her, but she didn't back down. She wouldn't. Instead, she held her chin high and walked with icy grace. It was looked impressive when she was surrounded by normal people, but it didn't work in the presence of this man.

His posture was deadly. While she possessed 'icy grace', he broadcasted his grace – and quite honestly: everything – in a very deadly way. Like he was superior to everybody else in the room. That made her to admire him a bit, but it also made her skin crawl.

Thankfully, however, they arrived and she stopped. The girl in uniform pointed at the book, but then – against her better judgement –, she grabbed and pulled it with grate care. She recognized this copy; this was the one she had read on many occasions. She smiled at its cover, though it was just a small upturn of lips, it was the only genuine smile that day.

Not noticing the man's intense stare – but quite aware of her childish behaviour – she handed the book over with a slight blush on her otherwise white marble face.

"I do appreciate your help, Miss... Lily Jameson." the man's face was marred by a frown for a moment, when he was looking at the emerald eyed girl's nametag, then those black orbs snapped back at hers, quite obviously contemplating something.

And when he read her name – or at least the name that was written on her nametag –, his voice dipped lower. Not dangerously low, just low enough to make her utterly suspicious But no, she wouldn't back down, no matter what; even if a small voice in the back of her mind was shouting at her, telling her to turn her back on this man, walk away and never look back. No. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

'Not now, or ever.'

That silent oath rang through her mind, echoing until it was deafening. The girls stare intensified and the man seemed to reel back just a bit – then even that was gone from his face. No expressions. None.

"I am just doing my job, sir." now that got a reaction out of him, but fleeting expression of undiluted disdain was not something to be stomached so easily.

"Have a nice day then, Miss Jameson." with that the man turned on his heels and marched away. Again, with that enviable grace, leaving a gaping girl in his wake.

'How dare he leave me here like this?'

But no internal raging brought the dark man back, and for that she was incredibly thankful. And yet, she was most intrigued by Tobias Prince.

LOST AND FOUND – LOST AND FOUND – LOST AND FOUND – LOST AND FOUND

The dark haired man stared into the charmed mirror, talking to someone only he could see, though that person was most definitely not him. His reflection was the face of an old man's with long white beard and hair. His blue eyes were sparkling maddeningly over his half-moon glasses.

"Have you found her, Severus?" asked the greatest wizard of their time with obvious intrigue in his voice.

"I do not know as of yet, but I shall investigate, Albus." the younger man's voice was unsure and calculating, but it showed his own curiosity in the girl he had met earlier that day.

The old one noncommittally hummed, his eyebrows furrowing. Suddenly he looked into the black orbs one again, his question sharp:

"What are the chances, my boy?"

The man in black sighed but answered nonetheless:

"They are high, but I have to caution you yet again, Headmaster, to not get your hopes up."

"Of course, of course." the ancient man flicked his hand in the air as if to shoo away a bee.

"I will report my findings as soon as I can, Headmaster. Good night."

The old man nodded at the younger one, then the connection broke. Tobias Prince blinked at his real reflection and put away the enchanted mirror. He stood up from his sitting position at the table and walked to the window of his small rented flat. Drawing the curtains he looked out of his window, staring blindly at the pedestrians below.

Though it was dark – it was way past 10 pm – he didn't bother with the lights of his room. He just stood there in silence and darkness; and those two fitted him perfectly. There was no sound in his room, that was for sure, but his thoughts were running away from him. A loud mess of memories of his childhood, of his horrors and of today. Because that girl was not only infuriating, but a puzzle as well. Making him look, making him see, making him feel – whether it be annoyance, curiosity or things even more complicated.

But one thing was for sure. That name in his mind didn't seem to cease echoing. Lily Jameson, Lily Jameson, Lily Jameson... It was driving him mad already, so he shielded his mind even more, squeezing out his thoughts – his every thought. He was a Master Occlumens after all.

But even after his exorcism of feelings and thoughts, all he could see was that pair of green eyes. Haunting him, torturing him once more.

This is the end of Chapter One

PS: Soooo. This is my first fanfic's very first chapter (as you can see). Rate and Review, please!

PS. No 2: As I have already mentioned, the story starts slow. I don't really like in medias res. Also, this chapter is quite short – and I apologise for that –, but only because it's the only the start. (And juts to be cruel: the original Chapter One was longer, but I had to cut it. Not "had to", but "decided to". Bwuhahhaaa!)

PS. No 3: I am looking for a beta, I would absolutely appreciate the help!

Ps. No 4: You can follow the story on Twitter too - through me, of course. You can find me under the same name ( salynoon). That's where I am going to announce the release dates.

And most importantly, my Dear Readers:

Thank you for reading!

Saly