Once again filled with the curiosity that had led her to spending hours upon hours in the library researching, Lily set the vial on the desk before her and pulled out a sheet of parchment and her wand. She had always been different, that was made abundantly clear, even by her own parents. It was clear at Hogwarts too. Lily had no close friends, although she was friendly with several Ravenclaws and a couple of Hufflepuff girls.
She had excelled in her studies the first two years, so much so that she was granted a time turner for her third year, so that she could take all the classes offered by Hogwarts. She knew Hermione had been given one as well, but she could see that Hermione had followed the strict instructions they were given, not to use the time turner for anything other than going to class. Not that Lily abused it, per say. When she came across days with an undoable amount of homework, she headed to an empty classroom, the very one she was currently sitting in, and used the time turner to catch up on her homework, while her other self was either in class, asleep, or more than likely, also doing homework.
She was still an outcast in Slytherin, and most of her housemates refused even to speak to her. Hermione had become more friendly over time, although the two would never be like the Weasley twins. Harry and Ron seemed to dislike Lily, although she wasn't bothered by that. They saw no further than house rivalries, and there was no use getting offended by it.
Aware that her actions in the next moments could change her life, Lily popped the stopper out of the vial, and held it carefully in her left hand. With her right hand, she uttered a spell, and pricked her finger so that a few drops of her blood were able to fall into the vial. Waiting the required minute was agonizing, although Lily counted carefully, unwilling to waste all her time and effort due to impatience. After the minute was up, she spilled a small amount of the potion, which had turned brown with the addition of her blood, onto the parchment before her. She closed her eyes and recited the incantation she had practiced so many times before.
"Paternum revelio."
She opened her eyes, and banished the remains of the potion in the vial, putting it away while she watched out of the corner of her eye, as the spot of potion began to turn into writing on the parchment. When finally it stopped, she began to read the words.
This blood belongs to Lillian Granger, of the House of Potter, born the 31st of July 1980. Daughter of Lily Evans Potter and James Potter, sister of Harry Potter.
Lily's heart stopped as she tried to process the information before her. Daughter of Mary and Ronan Granger, it should say. Sister of Hermione Granger. But no. Lily wasn't ordinary. She wasn't muggle born.
As it grew later in the night, Lily found she had more questions than answers, however none of that changed the fact that her birth parents were dead and she would never know them. They would never see who she had become.
Lily began to cry, quietly at first, although not quietly enough. The door to the classroom burst open, and Lily looked up to see Professor Snape.
"Granger. What are you doing out of bed?"
"I-I lost track of time sir," Lily said, her voice trembling and tears still falling. Snape crossed the room quickly and towered over Lily. As he was about to berate her, he caught sight of the parchment on the desk before Lily. He snatched it off the desk.
"Come with me Granger," he ordered, and he led her to his office. Lily struggled to keep up, and tried to dry her eyes as she went, dreading what was sure to come.
Once in Snape's office, he ordered her to sit, and instead of sitting behind his desk, he transfigured a chair and sat across from Lily.
"Twenty points from Slytherin for being out of bed past curfew," he barked. And then,
"Miss Granger, did you brew this potion yourself?" he asked.
Lily, who had mostly composed herself, nodded.
"Impressive. And you cast the spell correctly."
"Yes sir." Lily was bothered by the shaky sound that was her voice.
"You are not in trouble for this Miss Granger. I am concerned for your well being. I take it this was not the result you were expecting."
"No, sir, not really. I don't know what I was expecting, but certainly not this."
"How do you… feel about it?" It seemed to cause Snape physical pain to ask that question, but Lily was too caught up with herself to notice.
"It changes everything. I'm not muggle born anymore. My whole life is a lie. My whole life, I've been celebrating my birthday with Hermione in September. I turned 14 just a month ago. But now I was born in July and I'm only 13 and it's almost too much to even handle." Lily became more and more hysterical as she spoke, and realized how little she knew about her own life.
"Miss Granger, while this may change things about your life, it doesn't change who you are," Snape said. Lily stayed silent, thinking about what he had said, and continuing to cry. She felt alone, more so than ever, and she launched herself at the only other person in the room. Snape was quite surprised when the redhead girl climbed onto his lap and proceeded to cry into his robes, although he made no move to throw her off him.
"You are an intelligent girl, Miss Granger, just like your mother."
Lily raised her tear stained face from the potions master's robes.
"You knew my mum?"
"We went to school together. She was very bright," Snape said. Pondering this new information, that she was like her mother, Lily laid her head against Snape's chest and fell asleep, still sniffling. After he was certain the girl was asleep, Snape called for Dumbledore. He wasn't ignorant, and he knew the Dark Lord would make a reappearance. They needed a plan. What to do with the Granger girl, who turned out to be Harry Potter's twin?
Moments later, Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace and into Snape's office. If he was surprised by the sight of his potions master with Lily Granger asleep in his arms, Dumbledore didn't say anything.
"Headmaster," Snape began, "I found Miss Granger earlier tonight in an empty classroom. She had this." He gestured to the parchment on his desk. Dumbledore picked it up, and as he read it, his brow furrowed.
"How could this have happened, Albus?" Snape asked. "I was there that night… after. I saw their bodies, and the boy. There was no one else."
"I don't know, Severus, I don't know."
The two men sat in silence for several minutes. Finally Dumbledore spoke.
"It is possible that Lily and James knew the prophecy related only to their son, and were able to send their daughter to safety with muggles, and remove all record of her existence."
"Lily was always good with planning," Snape said quietly. "She must have known all along what would happen."
Dumbledore sat in silence, and watched one lone tear fall from the potions master's eyes.
"She must tell no one of what she discovered tonight," Dumbledore finally said. "We will be at war before she is an adult, and we need every advantage we can get."
"What about now, Headmaster?"
"Take the girl to bed, and tell her to keep her secret."
Dumbledore left then, leaving Snape alone with his sleeping student. He levitated her off him, and headed for the Slytherin dorms. When he got to her bed, he pulled the sheets back, lowered her into her bed, and pulled the blanket up over her. He spent a moment too long looking down at the sleeping girl, before turning on his heel and heading to his own bed.
