Hello, you remember me, right? It's Memories back with Lullaby, I most likely will change the name, and once again thanks to SaphirePhoenix for the inspiration. Sarika, the disclaimer if you please?

Sarika: Lazy author, why do I bother with you?

Memories: You love me and I'm the only one who can deal with you.

Sarika: Which I vehemently deny. Memories does not own Harry Potter, nor much of anything. She does, however own a stuffed bear named Clinton, which I do not suggest you try and take.

::::

Philomel is once again out in the garden, sweating in the hot summer sun. She is humming under her breath, a song which she's always known and can vaguely remember a woman's high voice singing it to her at night.

She stops for a moment when a bruise on her arm freezes the muscle there. 'Damn Dudley. Considering the fact that he always manages to place my bruises in the worst possible place when it comes to movement, one would think he'd at least be good in Anatomy. Yet he remains the most stupid person in the class. Not that anybody'd say anything.'

Philomel reaches up to massage it back into working order, thinking about how utterly screwed up her life is. 'As if it's not bad enough that I'm the Dursley's slave, I'm also my baby killer whale cousin's punching bag, and I don't even have real clothes! I hope whoever left me here burns in hell; because that's the only way any of this will have been worth it.' she thinks vindictively.

"Get in here you lazy, stupid girl!" screams Philomel's aunt, Petunia Dursley, from the back door.

'That's the pot calling the kettle black, dear Aunt bitch.' Philomel remarks in her mind, but obediently gets up and quickly walks over to Aunt Petunia and bows her head demurely, saying, "Yes, Aunt Petunia?"

Philomel sighs inwardly when she is knocked down by a frying pan to the head. "Eat your lunch quickly and get out of sight. You will not be allowed out of your cupboard tonight because of Dudders' birthday party. Make a sound and you will regret it."

Philomel nods and moves her head slightly to avoid another blow to the head. "May I take a book to read, and therefore will not be tempted to make a noise, as I otherwise would?" she asks timidly, bracing for another impact.

Instead of issuing another blow, Petunia smirks and declares, pleased, "Yes, girl, you may. We wouldn't want such a wanton little freak like you to be tempted to disrupt my Dudders' party."

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

Philomel drew a thick book off the bookcase in Dudley's second bedroom quietly and brought it back down to her cupboard. Opening it to a page somewhere near the middle she begins to read:

"Paul felt that all his past, every experience before this night had become sand curling in an hourglass. He sat near his mother hugging his knees within a small fabric and plastic hutment—a stilltent—that had come, like the Fremen clothing they now wore, from the pack left in the 'thopter.

"There was no doubt in Paul's mind who had put the Fremkit there, who had directed the course of the 'thopter carrying them captive…"

Philomel set down her book with a scowl. The party had just begun outside and Dudley had turned up the music louder than was necessary, or even healthy. 'No doubt an attempt to aggravate his parents and me. Not even halfway done Dune and soon I won't be able to get to it anymore. How annoying that I have to ask permission to simply read.'

Philomel lays the book next to her in the cleanest part she could find in her cupboard and fell asleep.

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

"Up, now, Philomel, you freak!" screeches Aunt Petunia, rapping on the door sharply.

Philomel's emerald eyes fly open and she pushes long bangs out of the way so she can see in the gloom. "I'm up, Aunt Petunia. What do I need to do?"

"Cook my Dudders' breakfast and don't burn it!"

Philomel sighs and runs her fingers through her knee-length, windswept, midnight black hair; the only thing she liked about her appearance other than her eyes and her thin lightning bolt scar. Suddenly a thumping comes from above and Philomel hisses in annoyance. 'As if my life isn't miserable enough already, no need to add guilt for dead spiders to the list.' Philomel leaves the cupboard immediately and dust starts to settle in her hair. Shaking it out she goes quietly to fix her cousins breakfast.

While she was overseeing the bacon, Dudley came through the kitchen. Seeing Philomel with her back to him, Dudley couldn't resist pulling on her thick hair. Satisfied with her cry of pain he goes into the dining room to receive his presents.

Philomel is finishing breakfast, thinking maliciously, 'Dudley will eventually pay for all his sins; perhaps the massive amount of meat will be stripped from his bones. One can only hope.' She then goes on to serve her aunt, uncle, and cousin the breakfast while listening to them argue about the amount of presents.

"We'll get you some more at the zoo, Dudley, I promise! Please, don't cry!" cries Aunt Petunia. Dudley finally acquiesces, just as the doorbell rings. Philomel cautiously opens the door to reveal Dudley's friend, Piers Polkiss. She shudders unnoticeably when he leers at her; something no eleven-year old should do, then pushes her out of the way.

Uncle Vernon is reading the mail, however and groans aloud when he gets to one from a Mrs. Arabella Figg. "Petunia, dear, it seems one of those blasted cats tripped Mrs. Figg, breaking her leg. She can't take the girl."

"We are NOT leaving her in my house!"

"Well we're not leaving her in my new car, Petunia. She'll just have to come with us." replies Uncle Vernon with as much calm as he can muster. Then he turns on Philomel. "Though, I'm warning you, Philomel Potter, that if you do anything to disrupt Dudley's birthday, you will be in that cupboard until your birthday."

Philomel bows her head in submission before saying, "Yes, Uncle Vernon. I understand."

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

Philomel is stuck between Dudley and Piers and is pointedly ignoring the two boys incessantly bothering her. Despite the brief outburst from Uncle Vernon of, "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" because of a brief comment on a dream of such; they all got to the zoo in one piece.

Whilst at the zoo, Philomel was having the best time ever in ten years. For once she'd acted like her age and not her reading level1. Albeit, she was reading the cards explaining each animal with interest incongruous with the image of an eleven year old girl. It was only when they entered the Reptile House that something more unusual happened.

"Hey, dad, make it move!" wheedles Dudley, while pointing at the Brazilian Boa Constrictor that seemed to be sleeping. Uncle Vernon knocked sharply on the glass, ignoring the 'Do not touch the glass' signs. When it didn't move he rapped the glass once more before Dudley declared, "This is boring! I want to do something fun."

Philomel watches as her cousin and her uncle walk away then turns her attention to the snake. /Poor thing./ she whispers, staring sympathetically at the snake.

Too Philomel's surprise the snake lifted its head and winked before cocking its head in a parody of a shrug. It then gave her a look that said, \Happens all the time.\

Philomel stares in surprise, then decides that her life can't get any weirder and replies, /Annoying, is it not? In any case, where did you come from?/

The boa constrictor points with its tail toward the sign. Philomel reads the entire thing before saying, /Sorry. Don't you wish you could just run away; back to your original homeland, from whence all your ancestors came?/

The snake is just starting to nod when Piers screams, "DUDLEY, MR. DURSLEY! YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT PHILOMEL IS DOING TO THAT SNAKE!"

Dudley and Uncle Vernon run over to the boy, Dudley knocking over Philomel in the process. Philomel doesn't react beyond a slight narrowing of her eyes. Dudley, who had his face pressed up against the glass of the snake tank, fell through when the glass disappeared. The boa slithered out of the tank and past Philomel.

When it slinked by, Philomel could have sworn she heard it say, /Thanksss, Sssenorita. Brazzzil here I come./

A highly surprised hiss escapes her lips, /'Twas no problem./ And the rest of the glass enclosures disappear, causing mass hysteria in the crowd and causing Philomel to scoot into a corner to avoid being trampled. She stays there until the entire building is cleared, and even then Philomel does not move for fear of her relatives thinking she ran away. Especially Aunt Petunia, who would be the only one to actually hit her in front of family.

A swish of fabric on the dusty floor grabs Philomel's attention before she sees, not her Aunt and Uncle, but a man with rather odd-looking, black clothes. Philomel returns to regarding her overtly too-large clothes with disdain, ignoring the man.

"You are Philomel Potter, aren't you, girl?" he asks politely, leaning over to get a better look at her face.

Philomel fixes a rather good death-glare on the man from behind her curtain of hair. "Yes." she answers tetchily. The man nods in thought then grabs her hand and pulls her up. Philomel stiffens for a moment before succumbing to his will.

"What do you want?" questions Philomel, clearly not expecting much in the way of an answer.

She is surprised, however, when the man immediately responded, "I was sent by the Headmaster of a very exclusive private school to pick you up and help you get your supplies. My name is Professor Severus Snape and I am what you might call a chemistry teacher2.Tomorrow we will go get your supplies, Ms. Potter, but for now you will meet the Headmaster." Philomel is looking thoughtful, until Professor Snape holds out a piece of paper with some writing on it.

"1:30 pm, July 27th, A Wednesday."

That was all the paper said when Philomel took it to read it. Opening her mouth to ask what was going on, she feels a tug in her abdomen. Then a feeling of vertigo overtakes Philomel and she passes out, seeing brilliant colors flash across her broken glasses.

::::

Memories. You get to see some of Philomel's thoughts and feelings. I also left some hints as to what house she will be in, it will not be Gryffindor! She may sound brave in her head, but Philomel is almost all bark and almost no bite. Also if anyone has any thoughts on what wand she should get, Harry will still have the traditional, canon wand; but Philomel's will be different. She can use both, but one works better for the different genders (state of mind thing). Review if you please and flames will be used to keep my cave at a manageable level of coldness.

She's reading Dune by Frank Herbert. If you've never read it, it is quite long and complex. Half my teachers wouldn't understand it.

Potions are incredibly similar to chemistry and I don't see why Severus can't have at least a basic knowledge of equivalent muggle education.