Professor Snape's hands fidgeted under his black robes as he sat at the teacher's table inside the Great Hall and waited for the First Year students to come in to be Sorted. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Knowing who Emily's real parents were, he was expecting her to be Sorted into Gryffindor despite her having the Snape name. He knew everyone else would be shocked, but he liked to think that he had finally come to terms with it. He barely heard Professors Flitwick and Sprout as they tried to engage him in conversation.
A few moments later, the large doors of the Great Hall were opened. Everyone turned to watch the group of First Years follow Professor McGonagall across the hall to stand in front of the teacher's table.
Professor Snape spotted Emily almost at once. She was walking between two red-haired twins who he easily identified as Weasley children. It seemed to him that the three of them were engrossed in whatever book the twins were holding in front of his daughter.
Emily occasionally nodded her head as her lavender eyes scanned the pages the twins, who had introduced themselves to her on the train as Fred and George Weasley, were showing her of various ideas they had for pranks they wanted to pull while they were at Hogwarts. She opened her mouth to say something, gasping softly as the twins each grabbed one of her arms. She gave them grateful looks for saving her from face-planting into the back of a student who had stopped walking right in front of her, blushing in embarrassment.
Fred and George Weasley had been surprised to find out that their new friend was the daughter of the school's Potions Master, but they quickly decided to use it to their advantage. They asked, in hushed whispers, if she would be willing to help them get some of the potions they would need for the pranks they wanted to do.
Emily gave them a mischievous smile as she replied, "Sure, but you have to help me if I decide to target certain people." She left it at that, not saying anything else as they all waited for their turn to put on the Sorting Hat. She clapped politely for the twins as they were both Sorted into Gryffindor House, not surprised by it at all. Her new friends had both been confident on which House they would be Sorted into.
Professor Snape couldn't help it. As Emily took her place on the stool to put on the Sorting Hat, he leaned forward over his plate and held his breath. He caught Professor Dumbledore watching him out of the corner of his eyes, but he chose to ignore the older wizard. He was too anxious to find out whether his daughter would be Sorted into his House or not. As Head of Slytherin House, he took great pride in the House that his family had been a part of for generations.
'Hm... Now isn't this interesting.' The hat whispered into Emily's mind. 'I've never had the pleasure of sorting someone like you.'
'Could you please not reveal who or what I am?' Emily asked in her mind as her lavender eyes gazed around at the four long tables before her.
'Do not worry, my dear.' The hat replied. 'Salazar Slytherin placed a secrecy charm on me, so I am unable to give away anything even if I wished to.'
Emily sighed in relief and relaxed a little, letting the Sorting Hat graze over her mind. She tensed up slightly as she felt a pair of eyes staring at her back. She had a feeling she knew who it was, and she planned to give the headmaster her most icy glare when she finally stood up. She listened to the Sorting Hat as it muttered about her being not only powerful, but talented, too, and debated to itself about which House to place her in.
The Sorting Hat finally spoke out loud. "Emily Snape, your House is..." It took a deep breath and bellowed at the top of its voice, "SLYTHERIN!"
Professor Snape was the first one to his feet, a proud smile actually stretched across his face that usually revealed nothing at all. He clapped his hands together, giving her their special signal when she turned around to look at him. He didn't sit down until she was sitting amongst the other students at the Slytherin table.
Professor Albus Dumbledore was very confused. He had been planning for Emily Snape to be placed in Gryffindor House so that she would be in place to guide young Harry Potter when he finally arrived at Hogwarts. Instead, she had been Sorted into Slytherin. He shivered slightly when he thought about the glare she had given him, a little surprised that she hadn't managed to actually freeze him with it. There was something very unusual about the girl, but he had yet to figure out what that was.
Professor Snape sat back down to enjoy his dinner, a smug smile on his face. He still wasn't able to concentrate on the conversation Professors Flitwick and Sprout were trying to engage him in, but he wasn't worried about it since he rarely paid attention to them anyway. Once he was finished eating, he moved down to the Slytherin table to give the Prefects the newest password for entrance into the common room so they would be able to pass it along to the First Years. He nodded once to Emily, not wanting to embarrass her with a public display, before leaving the Great Hall and going directly to his office.
Emily grinned at Professor Snape's nod, feeling fairly proud of herself. She watched him walk away before noticing that a prefect had come over to stand beside her. She listened to the new password, filing it away in her memory for future reference, before she snuck over to see Fred and George. She hugged both of them, asking if they would be okay remaining friends despite the fact they had been Sorted into rival Houses.
The twins grinned, agreeing with her and letting her know that they thought the school rivalries were annoying. They both hugged her back and then turned away to follow their House prefects to their common rooms.
Emily smiled to herself before running back over to an older Slytherin student who had been nice enough to wait for her. She gave him a smile and followed him down into the lower levels of the castle to the Slytherin 'dungeon'. She couldn't help but giggle as she thought about the word she had heard used to describe the Slytherin common room at home. She found her way to her dormitory and was relieved to find her trunk waiting for her.
Professor Snape kept himself busy by going through his lesson plans and double checking to make sure the potion was ready for Emily to start taking. He had it waiting for her, expecting her to come see him soon.
~C~
Emily waited a while before she snuck out, knowing she couldn't get caught out of the House after hours. She cast an invisibility spell that she had learned from one of Professor Snape's old spell books to keep herself hidden, eventually making it to her father's office. She opened the door and slipped inside before she dropped the spell. "Hello, Father." She smiled up at Professor Snape as she leaned back against the door.
Professor Snape smiled at his daughter and motioned for her to sit down on the chair across the desk from him. "I didn't think you would have any trouble finding your way here." He smirked as he slid a goblet across the top of the desk to her. "This is the potion we discussed. If you still wish to bind those extra powers of yours, you will need to drink it all before you leave here and come back this time every month as long as you wish to keep them bound." He put his elbows on the desk and laced his fingertips together as he waited to see what she would do. "I see you've already began to make new friends." He arched one eyebrow. "Weasley children, if I'm not mistaken."
Emily nodded with a grin on her face. "Fred and George Weasley. They let me sit with them on the train. They're actually quite amusing and even thinking of opening a joke shop after they graduate." She eyed the goblet warily and took a breath and exhaling before reaching for the glass.
Professor Snape nodded, paying more attention to her actions than her words. "You don't have to drink that if you don't want to, Emily. The decision is completely up to you."
Emily hesitated with the goblet in her hands. She was almost tempted to put it down, but the memory of Professor Snape telling her of people possibly coming after her powers popped into her mind. She bit her lip before bringing the goblet up to her lips, squeezing her eyes shut at the bitter taste of the potion as she quickly swallowed the entire contents of the goblet. When she was finished, she had a look of revulsion on her face as she put the goblet back on top of the desk.
Professor Snape sighed. "I never promised it would taste good." He looked thoughtful for a few moments, hating to ever do anything to make his daughter uncomfortable. "I'll see if I can improve it before next month."
Emily shook her head. "You're probably going to be busy dealing with students. As long as the potion works, it will be fine." She stood and walked around the desk to hug Professor Snape. "Good night, Father."
He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, pulling her onto his lap to kiss her forehead. "Good night, Emily. I love you."
A bright smile spread across her lips. "I love you too." After they let each other go, Emily recast the invisibility spell and started for her dorm.
-( two years later )-
Harry Potter shifted his feet, nervous as he waited with the rest of the First Year students to be Sorted into his House.
Professor Snape appraised young Harry Potter with a cold calculation. To his dismay, the boy looked nothing like his mother except for having eyes that were identical to hers. In every other aspect, the eleven year old appeared to be exactly like his father. He was not looking forward to watching over the boy, no matter what he had promised Professor Dumbledore.
Emily Snape's lavender eyes looked over curiously at the young boy. Her brother had grown so much and looked just like James, but she could also see that he was almost drowning in his robes. He seemed too skinny for his age and it made her suspicious.
She looked over to the Gryffindor table and waved over to her best friends, the Weasley twins. The other Slytherins hadn't been too happy about their friendship at first, but Emily refused to break her friendship with the twins no matter what or who threatened her, course they all had to be careful at the time to not get caught by her father. Not that she'd report them anyway, not wanting to overload her father with more trouble. But after a while they all gave up and accepted it, even drilled it into first years to leave her and her friends alone.
The relief was clearly evident on Harry's face as he pulled off the Sorting Hat and ran for the Gryffindor table as fast as he could go.
Emily had to suppress a laugh at his excitediness. He almost ran off with the hat like the Longbottom boy. Then she heard a boy with white blonde hair by the name of Malfoy get sorted into Slytherin before the hat even touched his head.
Draco sauntered over to the table, winking at the other girl as he sat down a few seats down and across the table from her.
Emily rolled her eyes, not impressed the slightest bit before jumping up for two seconds to wave both arms over her head to the twins again, who laughed and waved back, before she sat down and giggled herself.
Harry saw the action and turned to the twins, who Ron introduce as his older brothers. "Who was that?" He asked pointing towards the Slytherin table.
"Emily Snape." Fred answered, then George continued. "Our best friend and prank partner. Is actually one of the few Slytherin people who doesn't care for house rivalries and will make friends with everyone."
Ronald turned a horrified look to the twins, just now hearing this for the first time. "Are you two bloody mad?! She's a Slytherin!"
"Snape," Harry said quietly. "Isn't that the name of the professor who keeps giving me strange looks? Are they related?"
Both twins nodded. "Emily is the Professor's daughter." They anwsered at the same time.
Harry shivered slightly.
"You two would probably get along though." George added.
"And she can help you with Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts and a few other classes if you need help." Fred spoke up as well, ignoring their little brother's outburst.
Harry frowned a little, turning his attention away from Professor Snape and studying the girl instead. "She's nice, huh?" he questioned, doubt in his voice.
Draco cast a strange look over to Emily, who again ignored him and started chatting to some of the other Slytherins.
"It's rude to ignore people," Draco commented.
Emily gave the first year a cool, calculating look over her shoulder. "And it's more rude to butt in to others' conversations."
Professor Snape stiffened up when he saw Draco Malfoy talking to Emily. He knew he was good friends with the boy's father, but that didn't mean he had to like the idea of the boy talking to his daughter.
Draco smirked. "It's all a matter of knowing who's more important," he commented.
Emily's lavender eyes rolled heavenwards as she turned all the way around to give the boy an icy look. "You are already treading on thin ground by annoying me." She spoke calmly.
Fred and George recognized the look. "How long you think he'll last?" "Maybe a minute."
Harry's eyes widened at the twins' comments. "What's she gonna do to him?"
"Probably knock his attitude down a few pegs." George explained. "Some first years for whatever reason think they're all high and mighty like Malfoy over there. She straightens them out." Fred nodded in agreement with his twin.
"You obviously don't know who you're talking to," Draco retorted.
Emily raised a brow at him. "Draconis Malyfolly right?" She said, purposely messing up his surname which caused some of their housemates and some of the Hufflepuffs that heard her at the table behind her to snicker.
Draco sneered at her. "My name is Draco Malfoy."
Professor Snape watched his daughter carefully. Knowing she possessed the gift of telepathy, he sent his thoughts to her. 'Please do not antagonize the Malfoy boy too much. We do not want his idiot father up here and causing us difficulties. As it is, I'm going to have to pretend he's my favorite student.'
Emily mentally made a face. 'This brat? Yikes... He's only going to get himself killed with this attitude.' But aloud she spoke. "Do not cock that attitude with me, boy. I am perfectly capable of retaliating." Her tone was solid and strong with the underlying threat of potential danger, one that she reserved for people who started to make her angry.
'Yes that brat. Be nice. For me.' Professor Snape sighed as he picked up his goblet and took a drink, watching as Professor Dumbledore stood up to give his announcements.
"We'll be friends," Draco spoke with confidence. "My Father does a lot for this school. You're not stupid enough to reject me. Unlike some people." His eyes glittered maliciously as he glanced over at Harry.
Emily grit her teeth as her eyes sparked, something deep within her growled, the sound a mix between a roar of a white tiger and a dragon, but not loud enough to be audible to everyone around her. She poked a Slytherin a couple seats down and managed to trade seats with them so she sat right in front of Draco. She made a silent gesture for him to lean forward. She had a little surprise for this particular first year, an idea to help set his attitude straight before it could fully set in and cause a lot of damage.
Draco grinned as he leaned across the table, anticipation making his gray eyes bright.
In one fast, smooth movement, her right hand reached out and smacked him upside the head. The action was so surprising and unexpected that he face planted into his currently empty plate and a little yellow tab was dropped into his goblet without anyone's notice.
Emily traded seats with the previous student as Dumbledore continued on speaking and she couldn't help but smile as she took a drink from her glass. After checking the small bag the twins gave her under the table, she had all the tablets that caused animal sounds, all except the chicken...
Draco had taken a drink from his goblet before opening his mouth to say something, but all that came out were chicken sounds. After they had subsided a few minutes later, he glared at her. "My father will hear about this."
Professor Snape groaned from his position at the staff table.
Emily only raised one hand, showing two fingers. "Two things wrong with that statement." She said with a perfectly good authority's voice and tone, stating that she was completely serious. "Threateningly everyone with things your father can do shows that you have no spine. And do you really think he will fight /your/ battles for you? No. You are supposed to be someone who can take care of himself, or at least your position in society says that. From what I can see, you don't have a damn thought of your own and willing follow your father's orders like a sick puppy." Then she took a finger away. "And also, I am not your servant, your maid, or your mother. Do not take that attitude with me unless you want to run around the grounds as a furry little animal." With that she sat in her seat again, considering she had stood and leaned over the table while she had been speaking. Her eyes had darkened to a deep violet and seemed to crackle with hidden power. She wasn't going to take crap from anyone, least of all this brat!
"We'll see about that." Draco looked mutinous as he purposefully turned away from the older girl and pretended to listen to Professor Dumbledore's speech.
'Shall I assume I will be seeing Lucius Malfoy tonight?'
A smirk slid across Emily's face. 'If he does, it will only prove my point and everyone will see this as well. He'll become a laughing stock easily, or at least among our house. But I can say for sure that the gears in his head are turning and actually considering what I said.' She let out a low sigh. 'He's a smart kid but he's used to following his father. He has to learn to think for himself and follow what he, himself believes. Hopefully this advice sinks in early before it's too late to save him.'
Truer words were never spoken. Draco's mind was actually processing what she said, and realized she proved several points. Secretly, he had a new found respect for her. Not that he'd tell her that.
Harry couldn't help but laugh as he watched the older girl dealing with Draco. It was hilarious, especially seeing him squawking like a chicken. He was especially grateful that Professor Snape's attention seemed to be staying on the Slytherin table now instead of focusing on him. He was feeling even more light-hearted as the feast ended, getting up to follow the rest of the First Years toward the Gryffindor Common Room.
After the meal, Emily walked over the the Gryffindors, hoping to get to tell Fred and George how well their new project worked out.
Harry and Ron stared in awe at the older girl. She was beautiful and clever.
"Brilliant," Ron stated, slightly flustered. "What you did."
Emily smiled at the two younger boys. "Thanks." Her head tilted slightly to one side as she looked at the small redhead. "You're Ronald right? You're brothers told me about you." Then she looked over to Harry and held her hand out to him. "You're name's Harry, right?" She asked calmly, trying not to get over excited about seeing her brother again.
Harry nodded as he shook her hand, frowning just a little. He was already getting sick and tired of everyone knowing who he was before he even met them. "You're Emily Snape," he commented, letting go of her hand fairly quickly. He smirked at Ron when he saw his new friend was blushing at the recognition from the older girl.
She frowned at him. She noticed something and gently reached up and moved his bangs. Her fingertips light traced the scar that she knew he was famous for but had a feeling he didn't like it. "Looks like it burns." She said before taking her hand away. "What was your last name?" She asked, knowing not to pay any attention to his fame, because her similar one scar already got some attention as it was and she hated it.
Harry seemed a bit surprised at her question. "Potter." He muttered.
Emily nodded her head. "Ok." She said not giving any resignation of knowing he was the almighty famous Boy-Who-Lived. Technically she knew, mostly cause she had been there, but hated remembering it and she had a feeling Harry did too. Everyone celebrated the day their parents died all because Harry himself had survived, mostly because of Emily, but she was always angry about that. For her it was a day to mourn those lost.
Harry seemed to relax a little when she didn't stare at his scar, but he still seemed relieved when the group began heading up the stairs. He was looking forward to seeing the Gryffindor Common Room.
Emily slipped a small green potion bottle into his hand. "It'll help if your head starts to hurt." She said When he gave her a confused look. "If your scar burns or you just get a headache, drink it and it'll help. If you want more after that let me know, ok?" She smiled before following her fellow Slytherins to the dungeon. She still laughed at that fact.
Harry clutched the bottle in his fist under his robes as he followed the others through the Portrait Hole and then walked with Ron up to their dormitory, his mind going round and round as he kept thinking about the older girl.
Something about her seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite grasp what it was. He did admit though, she had very pretty and unusual eyes.
He had a smile on his face as he drifted off to sleep with her face foremost in his mind. Unfortunately, he started dreaming of people screaming and flashes of bright green light. He woke up panting, clutching the scar on his head as it throbbed painfully.
He looked over to the nightstand beside him and saw the little green bottle next to his glasses. He picked it up, twisted off the cap and cuffed the contents all at once. Immediately he started feeling the effects, it was as if it went straight to the source of his pain and soothed it until the scar no longer burned. He sighed in relief and looked at the bottle again. Looks like he's have to ask for some more tomorrow.