(I just felt like writing something for the next generation of Harry Potter and something with Severus Snape, who is my top favorite character hands down! Plus this idea I'm sure has been done to hell and back but it's such a fun notion of having the portrait Snape confronted by Lily Luna Potter. It's cute!)

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A Portrait of You

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The halls of Hogwarts had seen many a things. Good and Bad. They had seen death, love, anger, sorrow, you name it... But one thing it held was generations. Hogwarts walls held the memories of generations of families and friends. It had witnessed the growth of its children and even its teachers. It held many things.

And at the moment... It held three Potters. The third, fourth, and fifth generation to walk the halls and leave their secrets. But the one the halls whispered of the most was Lily Luna Potter. The youngest of Harry Potter... And the spitting image of Lily Evans, Harry Potters mother and the girls grandmother.

Lily Luna was not dumb. She knew the walls spoke of her. She knew the portraits sometimes stopped and peaked, sometimes stopped and double checked to see if maybe a new ghost had found its way into the castle. But she truly did not mind. Her brothers got many a stares and she had gotten them when she was very young. It was not something new.

Her father had told her not to let it get to her. Her mother had said they were all just curious. But Lily Luna didn't mind. She was a Potter. She was strong like her father, easy going like her Aunt Luna, caring like her mother, and loving like her grandmother. She held her head up and smiled. And it was that smile, that aloof brush off, that made her looked at in many ways.

Some loved her smile and aloof attitude. Teachers found her sweet and charming. While others, mostly a few Slytherins – some ancestors of Death Eaters, others just spiteful – who found her a goody goody and spit of blood in the wizarding world. They teased and poked at her. Pulled her hair, pushed her in hallways, called her names, and even attacked her with flying lilies at one point.

She had cried of course. Oh yes she was strong. And yes she could handle it most of the times… But if there was one thing she got, it was also her mother's sensitivity. It hurt her. Why would they pick on her? She was just who she was. She was a Potter, a Weasley, a Peverell. She was strong… But… It hurt.

"You okay?" Lily Luna jumped as she looked up from her Potions book to find her cousin Rose Weasley looking concerned as she sat across from her. Lily Luna looked around the Great Hall. Many had already headed off. To class or Quidditch or whatever their day consisted of. Lily Luna had been so deep in thought staring at her book that she hadn't realized it. Closing the book she gave her known smile and nodded. "Uh-huh… Sorry. I guess I wasn't paying attention," she replied with a small laugh.

Rose smiled – she looked like Aunt Hermione when she smiled – and took a sip of her goblet. The two cousins – while they were not as close as Lily Luna and Hugo were – often found themselves sitting together like this in the mornings or afternoons. It was afternoon now and Lily's classes had let out an hour ago. Her second year seemed so much more loose than her first with the schedule. Not as much as Albus and Rose's third year or James's fourth year, but so much more than her first.

Rose ate a piece of bread as Lily Luna felt her cousin watching her as she poked through the enchanted bag her mother had given her for carrying all her supplies. "Did you and Scorpius have a fight?" Rose asked suddenly, causing Lily Luna to look up and make a face. What an odd question… Well maybe not so.

Scorpius Malfoy, third year, was a frenemy of hers. His second year had been her first and the two had found a competitive nature with each other. Scorpius was smart and skilled in potions and flying, and Lily Luna was as well – though Potions she did admit was not her favorite even if she was decent at it – and the two found the class bearable to work in when they made it a sort of game.

Scorpius was not really like his father, Draco Malfoy. She had met him during a parent's day for Hogwarts. He wasn't unkind but he was somewhat cold and stiff. Scorpius came off as being so, but he would smile and was even okay with being sometimes goofy. He was also not one for bullying. He had been the one to get the flying lilies off her and used them on the others. It got him some grief from his other housemates but he wasn't put off by it, calling them all "one-minded imbeciles" and something about "inbreeding".

"Not recently… Why?" Lily Luna asked, taking a drink from her goblet. Rose pointed at Slytherin's table as an answer. Frowning, Lily Luna followed her cousin's finger to see Scorpius looking at her intently. He looked like he was annoyed. And his annoyed gaze startled her. "He's been staring at you this whole time. So I just thought you two had another argument… Personally I don't see how you can be friends with him. He's rude and stuck up," Rose huffed, raising a brow at her cousins.

It was no secret that her friendship with Scorpius Malfoy left a bad taste in her families mouth. At least her mother's side. Her father had just given her a strange look while her mother looked like she was thinking of something she was unsure how to explain. Her Uncle and brothers and cousins had all thrown somewhat of a fit about it. But she'd brushed it off as a silly old rivalry that they had a hard time getting over.

"I'll talk to him," Lily Luna said, somewhat to herself and somewhat to Rose as she looked back at her meal.

-0-

"Where are we going, Scorpius?" Lily Luna struggled to keep up. The grip on her wrist hurt somewhat and Scorpius was franticly pulling her up and down the moving stairways as they cut from corridor to corridor. "Just come on… He might not stay if I don't get you there now," he said, mostly to himself. He? Lily Luna gave her friend a puzzled look but said nothing else as she let herself be lead down a somewhat unused part of the castle.

Suddenly they stopped. Lily Luna let out a surprised "oof" as she bumped his back with her face and chest. "Scorpius?" she asked as she had to tilt her head up just slightly to see his face. He held a finger to his lips and they walked ahead. Lily Luna looked around and saw they were in The Hallway of Headmasters. No wonder it seemed so unused. It wasn't an overly frequented room. But it was still a trophy to the walls of Hogwarts and the staff.

Many of the portraits glanced and tilted their head at them in greeting. Some seemed bothered by being interrupted from their naps. And others just stared at them. Lily Luna found herself smiling as they walked past Albus Dumbledore's portrait. The bearded man with the half-moon spectacles smiled back and sat up. "Young miss Potter," he greeted, tilting his head in hello.

Lily Luna grinned. "Hello, sir," she said. She would have said more but Scorpius lightly touched her shoulder and she looked away from the famous Albus Dumbledore to look at Scorpius who motioned her to the last two portraits. She followed him on and they stopped before the one before the last portrait and Lily Luna blinked, staring at the man before her.

He had a long nose and very oily black hair that brushed his shoulders. His eyes were a very deep black and he was very pale like. She tilted her head as the man turned and looked directly at her from the portrait. His seemingly unreadable face seemed to twitch in pain, disbelief, and awe all in one jump before he composed himself. Lily Luna turned to ask Scorpius what was going on, but the Slytherin was already leaving the room.

She went to go after him but stopped. Why she wasn't sure… But she stopped and looked back at the portrait of Severus Snape. He was watching her, looking her over and if he could she was sure he'd reach out to her for the way his hands twitch up then back down, cut off by the limit window of the portrait.

"I didn't know you had a portrait," Lily Luna said after what felt like an hour of odd silence. The portrait made a sound like he'd taken a sharp breath but he stifled any reaction he might have had. He said nothing so she continued. "I wish I had known… I wanted to meet you. My brother – he's the middle sibling – was named after you and him," she pointed to Albus Dumbledore's portrait before looking back at him. "He looks up to you a lot. Dad told me and him all kinds of stories. James liked hearing the stories about Grandpa James and our godfather Sirius… But I liked hearing the ones about you or grandma," she continued on softly, watching as he looked off to the side, away from her.

It didn't bother her, though. She had a feeling she was making him uncomfortable. "I get told I look a lot like grandma…. But all I've seen are pictures. Dad said he never met her, not really… Do I?" she finally asked, causing the former Headmaster to turn and look at her. Their eyes met and she held his gaze as long as he would allow before he turned away. He did not answer, though, and she felt a stab of some sadness.

Turning, she looked at him over her shoulder once before turning to leave. "Do not take his silence to heart, young Potter," Albus Dumbledore stated as she made to pass him. She stopped and turned to the most well-known wizard ever. "It is difficult for him. For you do so resemble your grandmother in looks and I daresay voice almost," he smiled and Lily Luna had to smile as well. She nodded to show she understood before walking turning to leave.

Out in the hall waiting, Scorpius straightened and made to ask, but she shook her head and simply gave him her famous smile and the two left, Scorpius curious but leaving it be.

-0-

It wouldn't be til her fifth year that Lily Luna Potter would once again travel to speak with the portrait of Severus Snape. Three years and a lot had changed. Every day she was getting more and more complements on her resemblance to her grandmother and her beauty. She was getting good marks, trying to stay out of trouble, and even… Well even dating.

The dating of Scorpius Malfoy and Lily Luna Potter had even the professors in a state of shock. The daughter of Harry Potter and the son of Draco Malfoy actually dating! It was scandalous to everyone. So much so the portraits were all talking about it. And that meant The Hallway of Headmasters was informed.

Dumbledore had found it all rather amusing and lovely. He was also happy to see a Slytherin and Gryffindor becoming involved. Ah but that also had him looking out and over at his neighboring portrait of course. Severus Snape had been passed the news and hadn't uttered a word, as he tended not to aside from an occasional chat with Phineas or any of the other Slytherin headmasters.

"Young love is a wonderful thing is it not, Severus?" Dumbledore finally asked, smiling and looking over at his neighbor. The portrait scoffed but said nothing more at first. "It is… Most surprising," he finally replied, a tint of true surprise and a hint of a smile heard. Dumbledore smiled knowingly. "Perhaps they'll someday have children of their own," he chuckled and he heard his fellow headmaster hum as a reply as the sound of feet on stone caught both their attention.

A smile spread across Dumbledore's face. "Ah. Young Lily Luna. Hello dear girl," he said in greeting. From his portrait Severus shifted and Dumbledore saw it, a twinkle of knowing in his eyes as he turned to look at the fifth year Gryffindor. She was taller now. Her hair was as long as Lily Evans had been before she died, her green eyes, demples, and light freckles making her look like a young, but beautiful, woman of fifteen.

-0-

Lily Luna was unsure what brought her to The Hallway of Headmasters, but hearing the happy greeting of Albus Dumbledore was worth whatever her reason. "Hello, sir," she said. She frowned slightly and pulled out her wand and, muttering a soft spell, straightened each of the portraits. Some had gone lopsided. With another murmur, the dust around and on some of them had puffed away, making many of the patrons happy. Only a few grumbled about the seconds of shaking around, but otherwise they seemed pleased to be cleaned and cared for.

"Tell me young girl, how are things?" Dumbledore asked her and she tucked her wand away. "Wonderful, sir. I find Transfiguration a little struggling, but I'm learning a lot… And Aunt Hermione is only an owl away if I truly need extra help," she replied happily, ready to share her time.

Lily Luna was an odd one to many in that she relished in the knowledge of the past. She loved talking to the portraits, young and old. She loved the history of each one and of Hogwarts. She was curious and she found that when she set her mind on wanting to learn something, she was hard to stop. A Gryffindor trait if there ever was she supposed.

Pushing a strand of her fair reddish orange hair out of her face, she chatted kindly with the former headmaster and legend, telling him anything and everything. Out of the corner of her eye she was aware that another was listening with just as much interest, though trying to hide it. Severus Snape had not spoken a word upon her entrance and she had not said anything to him, but he seemed interested and she smiled even more at this.

"I am glad to hear this my dear. I do hope that young Malfoy is behaving with you as well?" he asked, a twinkle of knowing in his eyes. Lily Luna blushed, her ears going red and then laughed. Her laugh echoed softly through the hallway as she smiled. "He can be crude and I don't much like some of the people he associates himself with… But he does treat me well," she answered happily.

The former headmaster smiled at her honest answer as Severus Snape also – though unseen – gave a small smile.

-0-

The next time the young woman found herself in The Hallway of Headmasters, she was crying. Her face was red and splotchy and tears flowed like a waterfall from her bright green eyes. Truthfully she hadn't realized she'd made it into the hall, crashing at the end and unknowingly infront of one Severus Snape, who was awoken by the sound.

"Miss Potter, it is late," he said, causing Lily Luna to look up at him with her tear stained eyes and the most pained expression on her face that it caused the former headmaster to straighten and a twinge of regret and pain to flitter across his face.

Lily Luna wiped at her eyes and sniffed. "Sorry, sir," she answered softly, again trying to wipe the tears away. Her voice was hoarse from crying and her form trembled softly. She looked up at him and slowly smiled, realizing something important. "You talk?" she asked somewhat playfully. She saw him stiffen and almost sneer and she gave a choked laugh, pulling herself to her feet. She was still crying, but the smile on her face wouldn't leave.

"Sorry, sir…You've not said a word any other time I came and I wondered if maybe you couldn't speak or your portrait didn't allow you," she explained with a small laugh. Severus raised a brow at her and she stepped closer. If he could, she was sure he'd draw back and away. His painted eyes didn't tell her much, but she could see… Fear? Apprehension? She wasn't too sure but he seemed eager for her to not be there.

Lily Luna's shoulders slouched. "Do I upset you, sir?" she asked softly, looking up at him past her bangs as she tilted her head down slightly. Silence greeted her and she sighed, wiping at new tears trying to form. She turned to leave when his smooth voice stopped her. "You do, miss Potter," he said almost softly. Lily Luna turned around and blinked at him in confussion. "You asked me long ago if you looked like your grandmother… You do. You have her eyes, her smile, her hair… You are almost a spitting image," he continued, seeming in a slight daze.

Lily Luna turned to fully face him now. "But you have your fathers expressions and your mothers laugh," he said with a smirk as a grin slowly spread across her face. She had been so use to being called a spitting image of her grandma… That it warmed her to know that she had something of her mother and father tucked inside her. "Thank-you, sir," she whispered. And he simply nodded as she again wiped her eyes, crying for another reason this time.

"Also if young Scorpius continues to cause you to cry and disturb my sleep, I will be forced to require help in getting him in severe trouble," he said coolly, and Lily Luna let out a choked bark of a laugh. She gave him an inquiring look and the former headmaster crossed his arms. "You'll find that life of a portrait is a dull one, Miss Potter… For simple explanation, boredom spreads gossip. You would be mortified to know all the secrets that get spread around," he said with distaste and Lily Luna felt her face redden and unable to stifle another laugh.

This governed a small smile from the portrait as the two relaxed into each other's company, Lily Luna able to coax a few stories of his past and she sharing her life with him. And thus every other night Lily Luna found herself visiting the former headmaster and potions expert. On happy days and sad days they would chat. And on the day of her graduation, Lily Luna showed her engagement ring from Scorpius to the portrait first.

And an odd friendship was set.

R & R Plz

My first Harry Potter one-shot is done... I hope it doesn't suck!