Lily sat in the garden of the mansion watching her young daughter play. The two year old had become very adventurous, exploring everything around her. Lily smiled watching as Melissa picked up a worm and began examining it. Lily felt relieved that the loss of her brother and father hadn't affected Melissa, she was too young to remember anything that happened that night. A year had passed since James and Harry were murdered.

She heard footsteps and looked up.
"Hi." Lily smiled at her childhood friend. Severus smiled back, taking a seat next to Lily. Melissa ran over to them, seating herself in Lily's lap. Lily hugged the little girl, and Melissa looked over at her mother's friend with a smile.
"Sevvy!" Melissa reached over to the man. Severus grudgingly pulled the girl into his lap - he didn't like children very much but this was Lily's child. She had her mother's green eyes, and already showed signs of having her mother's intelligence, although she had the same black hair as her father.

Melissa sat on the sofa next to her mother. The five year old child was excited to finally be starting school, though her mother was going through rules with her - last year Lily had explained to her daughter that she was a witch but that she couldn't tell anyone. Melissa would be going to a muggle school at Lily's request. She didn't want her daughter to be taught here by herself and Severus, she felt the girl should be at a school with children her own age.
"Remember the rule?" Lily asked the child.
"Never tell anyone I'm a witch." Melissa answered, the rule familiar to her by now.
"That's right. And listen to your teacher, be kind to the other children…" Lily listed the other rules she'd made for the child. Severus entered the room, a smile playing on his lips when he heard the list of rules. He couldn't wait for Melissa to be at school six hours a day, it meant he had more time alone with Lily.

Lily still didn't acknowledge his romantic advances, even after four years of caring for her and her young daughter. He would be returning to his job at Hogwarts, teaching Potions to the pupils there, while Lily would remain in the mansion, that Dumbledore had created for the three of them to live in, to raise Melissa. He hoped that during the Christmas holidays he would be able to return to the mansion and see her.

It had been five years, and Severus had given up hope that Lily would see him as anything more than her best friend. He chose to just be grateful she was alive. He admitted he'd also enjoyed raising her daughter Melissa, who was now eleven. He knew they'd have to tell her the truth before she went to Hogwarts - that her father and brother hadn't died in a car crash as they'd told her, a story they could tell any muggle that asked, but had been murdered by the Dark Lord. She'd find out at Hogwarts when she attended in September so it was best coming from her mother rather than another student.

"Melissa, we need to talk." Lily pulled her daughter onto the sofa. "It's about your dad and Harry."
"They died when I was a baby, right? Dad, you and Harry were going to pick me up from Aunt Petunia's when Dad crashed the car."
"I… I lied… They didn't die like that. Remember me telling you that you're a witch?" Lily gently asked her daughter, who nodded. "Well, they were killed by a wizard. An evil wizard named Voldemort. He killed your father, then came to the nursery looking for Harry. I tried to stop him but he used magic to stop me and then used a spell to kill Harry. There was a prophecy… That a boy born at the end of July would destroy him. That's why he killed your brother, and why he spared you. As a girl, you couldn't fulfil the prophecy." Melissa was visibly shocked hearing this. "You would have found out when you go to Hogwarts next month."

A month later, Melissa had everything she would need for her first year at Hogwarts. She was on the platform, ready to board the Hogwarts Express. Severus had agreed with Lily that he wouldn't give her daughter special treatment as Melissa's potions teacher and so he'd boarded the train separately. This meant none of the students would see her with him. Lily had been left to get her daughter's trunks and owl onto the train - she bought the owl so Melissa could send her letters.

Melissa was sat in a train carriage when a girl her age entered. She had bushy brown hair and was already wearing her Hogwarts uniform.
"Can I sit here? All the other carriages are full." the girl explained.
"Sure." Melissa gestured to the empty seat across from her.
"I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger."
"Melissa Potter."
"Really? You're the girl that met You-Know-Who, aren't you? I think I would have been terrified meeting him." Hermione began a small rant about Voldemort which Melissa patiently listened to - she was beginning to like this girl, even if she talked too much. A boy their age entered the carriage, obviously searching for something.
"Can we help you?" Melissa asked the boy.
"I've lost my toad. Gran will kill me if I don't find it!"
"We can help look for it." Hermione offered. The girls left their carriage with the boy, and they began searching the train for a toad. Melissa felt sorry for the boy when the train arrived at Hogwarts and he still hadn't found the toad.
"Don't worry about it, Neville. You'll find it." Melissa put her arm around the boy comfortingly. He nodded and smiled at the girl. They took boats to get to the school, Hermione and Neville sitting in a boat with Melissa.

They eventually were taken inside the castle to be sorted into their houses. They were told to wait in the aisle while Professor McGonagall read out their names.
"Hermione Granger." the teacher called. Hermione slowly walked up to the Sorting Hat, looking nervous. She sat down on the stool and McGonagall placed the hat on her head.
"Gryffindor!" shouted the Sorting Hat. One of the tables erupted in cheering, with students standing up to clap for Hermione, who skipped over to that table and sat down in an empty seat.
"Draco Malfoy." McGonagall called out. A boy with blonde hair walked over to the stool, sitting down. The hat wasn't even on his head when it shouted: "Slytherin!" and Draco went to join the Slytherin table which erupted into cheers.
"Susan Bones." McGonagall moved on to the next, a red haired girl. She nervously moved over to the stool and took her seat. Melissa glanced over at the teachers table as she waited, and saw Severus watching her. She sent a quick smile at him before turning back to watch as Susan was sorted into Hufflepuff.
"Ronald Weasley." was the next person to be sorted. A red haired boy, he was sorted into Gryffindor.

"Melissa Potter." This was it. Melissa could feel her legs shaking. She moved towards the hat, mulling the houses over in her mind - she could choose Gryffindor like her mum or Slytherin like Severus or she could choose to be put in one of the other two houses. She sat down on the stool, and felt the hat be put down onto her head.
"Hm, difficult. You could be a Gryffindor, like your mother… Or Ravenclaw… I think you'll do best in… Gryffindor!" the Hat shouted. The hat was removed from her head and she ran over to her new house. She took a seat next to Hermione and glanced over at Severus. He didn't look very happy, but she knew he wouldn't be too angry. Melissa clapped when her new friend Neville was also placed in Gryffindor. She was happy that her friends Hermione and Neville were in the same house as her, it meant they would have lessons together and live in the same tower.