Darkness surrounded me, and with a sudden jolt, pain shot through my body, the merciless stinging driving me to the edge of madness. Hands wrapped around my throat squeezing tightly, goosebumps running down my flesh as my lungs collapsed on themselves. I struggled, my nails scratching the empty air around me, darkness slowly closing in and then darkness consumed me.

I sat up quickly gasping for air and clutching the sheets tightly. It was just a dream, just a dream. I gently felt around my neck and gasped at the sudden throb of pain, but it didn't come from my neck. I clutched the side of my head groaning loudly as the pain only intensified. Memories came flooding back of yesterday, and I let out a sigh of relief, honoring the pain telling me I was still alive. Coming to my senses, I finally took a look at my surroundings, an old rustic room with light gently filtering through the cracks in the curtains.

Looking down, the whole upper half of my body had been wrapped in bandages, and I thinned my lips feeling somewhat violated, but at least, I was alive. I wondered if Sev was alright, but knowing him, he was too stubborn to die. I had given him medical attention as soon as I could, and I assumed he repaid the favor. The room was unfamiliar to me, but it was cozy and welcoming, but that did not stop my discomfort.

"Good, you're awake," an old man smiled throwing the curtains open, I was blinded by the light and shielded my eyes trying to shy away from the rays of the sun. He too was unfamiliar to me. A goblin waddled inside the room gathering the bowl of water beside me on the nightstand. I sat there, baffled and uncertain, questions racing through my mind, but I knew what came first.

"Thank you?" I questioned, feeling the bandages loosen from my sudden movement.

"My pleasure," he smiled exiting the room with the goblin, poking his head back in motioning to the chair resting beside the window sill, a pair of clothes that looked suspiciously like a uniform occupied the chair. I nodded silently, and once the two were out of my field of vision, I slid out of bed. I was still wearing the same dress, but I still felt violated knowing I had been undressed. I couldn't complain though; I felt much better than I should have considering I had almost been killed several times.

I undressed changing into the clothes that were provided for me, definitely a school uniform. I slipped out of the room glancing at each side, to be greeted by an empty hallway. To the right was a dead end, and to the left a staircase leading down into the unknown. I closed the door behind me and tiptoed down the stairs, met with an empty tavern area. Sev, however, sat quietly in a chair, his head rocking between his hands in deep thought. I cleared my throat, and he looked up somewhat relieved, but it was had to tell with his stoic expression.

He rose to his feet cupping my cheek and tilting my face to the side examining my bruises, his left hand brushed the wound on my forehead, and I winced. "What happened?" I asked. His eyes glazed over with unknown emotion and he pulled his hand away.

"I was careless," he said quietly. I nodded with skepticism and took a step back. It wasn't entirely his fault.

"Well, I forgive you," I beamed, clasping his shoulder firmly. Severus scoffed, preferably in amusement as he shooed my hand away deciding to ignore my cheeky remark.

"Well let's get a move on," he urged guiding me out through a side door. I grabbed the hem of his sleeve and looked around.

"Umm, what is this place?"

"The leaky cauldron, I see you are still very much sheltered." My cheeks flushed red, and I parted my lips unsure what to say but fruitlessly defend myself, in the end, I said nothing. He grabbed my arm pulling me into him, and with a tight grip around my waist, we apparated with a crackle.

"Aren't we apparating straight to Hogwarts?" I asked glancing around the train station. He shook his head, his eyes directed at the muggles casually strolling about the train station awaiting their trains.

"No." He answered unwilling to give me a proper reason, but his eyes warned me not to mess with him, so I didn't. We walked along the muggle populace, men and women alike, most dressed in a business casual manner, I felt out of place, or perhaps it was just my lack of human contact for the past four years. Out of nowhere, Snape shoved me into a pillar, and surprisingly I went through, he followed suit looming behind me, and I shot him a withering glare.

"That was uncalled for," I hissed.

"Many things are uncalled for." His lips twitched into a smirk, and I groaned. Cocky asshole. He got his fair share of bad luck as a kid ran into him, almost knocking Severus off his feet. I grew silent as his blood boiled and he barked a snide insult at the poor child, who stood frozen in fear. So this was the infamous Professor Snape? Scary. He caught me staring and cleared his throat ushering me along. We boarded the train, students greeting the professor more out of fear than respect. He, however, ignored all of them, his eyes keeping forward until he found an empty compartment to the back of the train. He opened the door beckoning for me to hurry along. I sat across from him staring out the window. The train shook slightly, and with a hesitated start, we were off.

I grabbed a copy of the daily prophet reading, and my eyes trailed across the pages, it seems as though the death eaters had made quite a scene. I frowned at the dozens of deaths and missing personnel that were at the event at the time of the attack. It was unfortunate, but even more so to know I had been responsible for the attack, I led them there, and for my self-preservation, others died, it was not a good feeling. The newspaper was ripped from my hands, and Severus tore it in half discarding the contents in the small wastebasket latched onto the wall. He seemed in a bad mood, and rested the side of his face on the palm of his hand, his eyes avoiding mine. He always acted with reason, but as for verbally voicing them, he was terrible, unless it came to putting someone back in their place.

A good half hour into the ride he rummaged through the inner pockets of his robes and pulled out a vial. I stared at the black and repulsive liquid, my eyes fluttering with uncertainty and gently, I shook my head. His eyes narrowed as he swirled the vial between his fingers, the contents sticking to the side. I thinned my lips as he reached to hand me the vial. "I am not drinking that," I breathed.

"You will, or I will make you," he growled lowly, a chill running through my spine. I nodded quickly and snatched the vial popping off the lid. There were times when Sev was a bit too intimidating for my liking, and it put me on edge. He seemed to calm down as I emptied the contents down, my mouth hit with a bitter taste, for all I know it could have been goblin piss. The thought alone made me shudder. I felt strangely exhausted, and Sev moved beside me, my body leaning into his as my eyes closed.

I woke up, my head resting on the comfortable confines of his robes, I had been sleeping on his lap. Luckily, Severus was asleep, his arms crossed and head slightly tilted to his left trying to lean on his shoulder but not quite. My head felt rather fuzzy, and I wondered what the hell he had given me. My body, however, felt light and I stood up stretching my arms and legs. I could hear a woman outside, stirring a trolley, mildly shouting the goodies she was selling. I patted myself down realizing I had no money and looked at Severus. I didn't want to wake him. He, however, let out a grunt and rummaged through his pockets dropping a few coins into my hand. "Be quick," he said in a hoarse whisper.

"Thank you," I smiled. "Do you want anything?" He pondered the question as if coming up with an answer was too much work, but he settled on something simple.

"Sherbet lemons then," he drawled.

"Okay," I smiled opening the compartment door. The trolley was just down the hall, and a small line had built up. Two girls stood before me, they gossiped about anything and everything, and I could only assume they had been to Hogwarts for a few years now.

"Want anything off the trolley dear?" The woman asked with a mischievous grin.

"I'll have two blood pops and a bag of sherbet lemons, thank you." I paid the woman and returned to my compartment throwing Sev his bag of sherbet lemons. "I haven't eaten in at least a day," I chuckled.

"And yet that's what you go with?" He scolded popping one of the candies into his mouth.

"I like them," I said plainly. Sev sighed and closed his eyes as if trying to regain sleep, I wonder how long it had been since he slept, he could go for days without sleeping, but he was still human. The train came to a sudden stop, and I gasped as my body jolted forward. Sev caught me, his arms resting underneath mine, he remained silent watching our surroundings intently. The window froze over, the glass lightly cracking and the lights went out. The train was thrown into complete silence, my breaths becoming puffs of white clouds, and the temperature dropping considerably. Sev hoisted me up to the space between his legs, he pulled out his wand, and I watched as an inhumane figure passed our door before making a sharp turn, its blurred out figure looming against the glass. My heart skipped a beat from the dementor stationed outside our compartment door, its long and bony fingers slipping through the cracks prying the door open from the inside. Snape tightened his hold on me, our chests pressed together, yet he was calm. Frighteningly so, his heartbeat steady and even, he was prepared to battle the dementor if he had to, but a bright flash of light traveled through the train's corridor and the dementor vanished.

Severus relaxed, his hand loosening around his wand. "Get off," he growled, and my eyes widened as I scurried off of him. Awkward. We sat in silence as the train came to a proper stop, and we got off. Immediately I was met by a half-giant, and my jaw dropped. I had never seen a half-giant before. "Ah, ye must be Miss Slytherin, welcome," he said in a slow whisper, making sure to keep the kids at bay. "Professor," the large man nodded, acknowledging the dark presence behind me.

"I am, thank you," I smiled shaking his hand. To say he had large hands was an understatement, they were gigantic, and his firm handshake felt like a death grip, but I smiled. Nonetheless, I'm sure he meant no harm. Sev stepped forward gripping the half-giant's wrist, prying it off with ease.

"Yes, yes," Sev trailed off dully, placing a hand on the small of my back to lead me away. "The headmaster is expecting us, so if you'll excuse us." Sev was never one to ask for permission, his tone was always commanding, or demanding, and as always, I never got to introduce myself properly, and neither did the half-giant. He seemed like a nice man though, and I would have to ask his name at a later time.

"It wouldn't kill you to converse once in a while," I scolded receiving no response whatsoever. Rather than following the masses of first years, Severus led me down a separate route, all greetings he encountered, he promptly ignored. I had a feeling he wasn't quite beloved around here. Then again, Severus wasn't beloved anywhere, that's just not the kind of man he wanted to be. He led me down a corridor until we came to a stop at a gargoyle statue. He mumbled a pair of inaudible words and the statue turned revealing a staircase. Sev motioned for me to go in first so I climbed the stairs only to be met with a wooden door. I opened it not feeling the need to knock and walked in staring at the beautiful decor. Snape set both hands on my shoulder forcing me to take a step forward so he could walk into the room and he waited.

A familiar fiery orange bird took my attention, his elegant posture and condescending gaze, it was none other than Fawks. I rushed over stroking his little head with a goofy grin. "Hey buddy," I whispered.

"And hello to you, Rynne," a whimsical voice spoke. I looked up greeted by Albus' mirthful gaze.

"Hello Albus, it's nice to see you too," I smirked giving him a great big hug. Sev cleared his throat, and the headmaster rolled his eyes over to him.

"Ah yes Severus, I trust your mission had a bit of a setback," in saying so, he glanced at me, and I frowned.

"I wouldn't call myself a setback," I mumbled quietly. Severus scoffed, and I narrowed my eyes. "By all means, I know my way out," I said bluntly.

"And hand yourself to the death eaters, that would be the day," Severus spat with bitter humor. My hands clenched and I took in a deep breath relaxing.

"Severus," Albus warned. "Right, let us get back on track. Miss Slytherin, any accommodations you need will be taken care of." I frowned at the headmaster and tugged at my skirt.

"I-"

"This is not up for debate," Severus growled threateningly.

"Thank you, Albus," I whispered. The headmaster's eyes shone with glee, and he clapped his hands together.

"Now that you will be staying with us, Miss Slytherin-"

"Miss Salazar," I interrupted. Severus scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Every death eater knows your face, changing your name won't save you."

"It's not for the death eaters, I..." I cut myself off. "Anyway Albus, continue." A sparkle twinkled in his eyes, and he clasped his hands together once more as if the action somehow made his words official.

"Miss Salazar then, I believe a 7th-year Slytherin will suffice to complete your disguise, yes?" I nodded blankly, looking over at Severus, a scowl plastered on his lips. "And I trust Severus will look closely after you," he smiled.

"You mean, I'm a student? No Albus, please, I've done my years, don't do this to me!" I cried out earning a small chuckle.

"Happy 22nd birthday, Rynne. Now then, I believe I have a speech to give." He excused himself and exited through the doors.

"Slytherin," I mused. "Well Salazar would be proud," I smirked. In response, Sev gave an almost inaudible chuckle, and I stared at him like he had gone mad.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"As head of the Slytherin house, don't make me punish you," he warned almost playfully before leaving in turn. I huffed shaking my head slowly as if he could even punish me in the first place. Fawks cawed at me to hurry and follow, so I scurried out of Albus' office bumping into snape on my way out. He glanced over his shoulder, glaring at me as I rubbed my nose.

"I thought you were long gone, sorry," I mumbled. Severus didn't respond but walked ahead, peering over his shoulder again, waiting for me to follow. "Severus," I whispered. He turned around looking somewhat irritated and flourished his robes.

"We are not friends, nor do we know each other, now with that regard in mind, you will either call me professor, sir, or simply Snape, Miss Salazar," he mocked coldly. I nodded the words I had been waiting to speak dissipating in my mind. "Next time, detention." I thinned my lips nodding slowly, baffled by what had just happened. He turned into a completely different person, and it was rather unsettling. I had known him for eight years, but even now, he could be a complete mystery. You would think eight years would be enough, but I was wrong. He clutched his forearm and hissed, his face contorting to a mix of emotions for a split second before he recovered. He shot me a glare, and I stepped back knowing that the dark lord had called upon him. Perhaps he hated me, and I was the one who had thrown him into this hell hole all because I hesitated. Was he one to hold a grudge? Well, he could, but did he?

I was swimming in a pool of questions with no answers and sighed heading to the Great Hall. Even though my emotions were currently loose, I felt overly worried, not for myself but Severus. After yesterday's events, I'm sure Tom would be more than delighted to re-establish the chain of command and to do so, it would most definitely be physical. I shot worried glances over to Sev who made sure to keep his eyes fixated on either his plate or something far off in the distance, simply so our eyes could not meet. Albus took the pleasure of introducing me, and I rose out of politeness, but once seated I ignored the flood of questions and kept to myself. Just because I was now a student didn't mean I wanted to interact with them. It felt odd after being alone and isolated for all those years, and I didn't feel ready to engage in any relationship, friendship or otherwise. Sev rose from his seat at the high table flourishing his robes as he excused himself, his face indifferent to the burning pain on his forearm, I guess he would be leaving now.

As the night and festivities drew to a close, I rose from my seat following the prefect to the Slytherin dorms. The castle had a very homey feel to it, and maybe it was the lighting or all the paintings which seemed to be arguing over the overcomplexity of life or in their case, death. Or perhaps, it was just a more significant contrast than I expected from my old life, everything seemed to be alive and cheerful. Happy to be alive is a phrase most would not often use, from the world I resided in at least. To be alive was a privilege but not a gift by any means. Life is suffering after all.

I was not thrilled to share a room with other girls, but I wouldn't let it bug me too much. A suitcase sat on my bed, a few errant items laying about, I was surprised to find my side of the wardrobe full of clothes that fit me, mostly leggings and hoodies along with three more uniforms hanging near the back of the closet. A velvet colored box rested atop my sheets and pulling the lid off my heart throbbed at the silky black wood that met my eyes. The wand slid into my hand, the texture smooth and delicate, gracing me with its presence. I guess my wand hadn't survived the past ordeal, what a shame. The perfect contours to fit the shape of my hands and the length was decent too, eleven inches, with a phoenix core. Pure blackwood, tough yet tender, it was perfect. How could I ever thank Albus enough?