Chapter four – Slytherin's Potter

Due to the preparations that Severus had to make for the up and coming school term he didn't have the time to check up on his little secret obsession. He worried over how the Dursley's were treating her and to a lesser degree her brother, who in his opinion looked too much like his father James Potter for his comfort. He knew that the boy seemed to handle living with his horrid relatives much better than the girl. She seemed so fragile and weak. It was for that reason that he prayed that she ended up placed in his house. Under his protection and care, he would ensure that she learned to defend herself.

He smiled to himself as he thought of all that he would like to teach that particular student. She would thrive and flourish in his house, and he would make sure of it. From that day he began to research and to work on a way to give her proper use of the tiny little voice that he knew her to have, and make her life easier if he were able to do so.

Serenity had started out happily riding with her brother on the Hogwarts express, but after a ginger haired boy named Ron Weasley, made a comment of how rude she was not to speak, she abruptly got up and grabbed her caged owl and her trunk and left the compartment for friendlier riding companions or solitude, whichever came first.

She had found a place in the creature car where other older students had left their pets and trunks, and took a seat on top of her trunk taking her owl, which she had named Olly, out of his cage to pat him. She was sitting in this way stroking her owl and feeding him owl treats with silent tears flowing freely down her cheeks when someone entered the creature car of the train and noticed her.

"Hay, aren't you that Harry Potter's twin sister," asked a blond boy with silver eyes as he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket? Serenity looked up and nodded placing her free hand over her scar to hide it. "You really can't talk, can you," he asked as he sat beside her and handed her his handkerchief? Serenity shook her head in the negative.

"Do you have any way of communicating with others," he asked as he fed her owl a treat and patted him? Serenity felt comforted by this boy who had chosen to speak to her so nicely, so she let down her mental walls and spoke to him with her mind.

"I can speak to those who I trust mentally, and I also whisper very softly, and write notes to people and I know this thing called sign language," she said in his mind giving him a watery smile.

"That's a bit strange, but very interesting. My name is Draco Malfoy. Why are you sitting all alone in the creature car, Serenity Potter," he asked with a caring expression on his face?

"I was sitting with my brother, but a rude red headed boy named Ron Weasel, or something like that came in and was rude to me, and made me feel uncomfortable," she said returning Olly to his cage.

"Ah, the Weasley's, I see, Serenity why don't you come and sit with me and my friends. We won't judge you, or let anyone hurt your feelings. You'll soon find that some wizarding families are better than others," he said as he got up and offered his hand to help her to her feet.

"So, you want me to be one of your new friends as well," asked Serenity as she took his offered hand and got to her feet?

"Of course I do, here let me take your trunk for you, Serenity," he said as he grasped her trunk and pulled it along with them into the car that his friends were waiting for him in.

"Hay Draco, what took you so long," asked Crabbe and Goyle in unison?

"Nothing, I just met Serenity Potter and invited her to be out friend and join us in our compartment. Apparently the Weasel made her feel sad and teased her," he said as he guided her down into a seat between himself and the two large boys.

"We're sorry about that Miss Potter, you just stick with us and if anyone makes you feel sad or teases you, let us know and we'll handle them for you," said Crabbe as he pounded his fist into his hand.

Soon Serenity and the three boys were joined by Daphne Greengrass and Millicent Bulstrode, who immediately took Serenity over to their side of the compartment and started giggling madly as they polished each other's finger nails and discussed the latest fashions. "You're not weird at all Serenity, you're amazing," said Pansy Parkinson.

"Yeah, girl, I wish that I could speak with other's mentally, it would be so cool to have conversations that nobody could hear unless you wanted them to," said Daphne as she carefully painted Serenity's fingers a nice shade of pink that matched her dress perfectly.

"So, Serenity, tell us, do you know what Hogwarts house you want to be placed in," asked Blaze?

"Well, Mr. Haggrid, told us briefly about the houses and their four founders, but I'm not sure which house will be right for me. My brother is far braver than I am so he'll most likely end up in Gryffindor. I am smart and love to read and study hard,, so I might end up in Ravenclaw, however I just want to prove that I belong somewhere great, and that I am capable of doing anything that anyone else can do, so maybe Slytherin will suit me better," said Serenity in the mind of all of her new friends.

"If you get a choice, you should join us in Slytherin house. All of us come from pure blooded families, and our families have been in Slytherin house for years as far back as anyone can remember," said Draco as the lady with the treat trolley came to the door of their compartment.

Serenity joined everyone and bought one of each of the treats from the trolley to try, since she had never had wizarding treats before. She found that she liked the red lickerish wands, but not the black ones. The Pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, and chocolate frogs were all good too. Her favorite wizard sweet so far was definitely the every flavored beans. She felt like she could quite possibly live off of them if she had to, due to the many flavors.

As the train drew nearer to Hog's-made station her new girlfriends rushed her into the girl's bathroom, where they all changed into their new school robes for the first time. As the train stopped minutes later she walked arm in arm with her group of new friends down to the boats. She watched as the giant known as Haggrid helped a few of the more timid students into the waiting boats then got into one himself.

Draco and his three chums watched the beautiful, yet somewhat skinny Serenity Rose Potter as she floated across the black lake with Millicent and the other girls with a look of wonder on his pale face. He was then snapped back to reality as Blaze said something that got them all arguing over something worthwhile.

"Hay, Draco, I bet you one hundred Galleons that I'll get Potter to date me before you do," he said winking toward the boat occupied by the girls.

"You're mad if you think that you're going to date her, mate she clearly prefers the strong type. I think that Crabbe and I have a better chance of getting her to date one of us than you do Zabini," said Goyle smugly.

"Neither of you have a chance with her, if you ask me. Didn't you see how fearful she seemed when she was sitting with the two of you before the other girls came in? A girl like her needs not only someone who is her mental and educational equal, but a gentleman, like me," said Draco hitting Crabbe and Goyle upside the head for even thinking of attempting to date Serenity.

Once everyone had entered the castle, Serenity looked around for her brother. She saw him once again with the Weasel boy, and decided to stay with the girls who were so friendly to her instead of joining her brother. As Draco introduced himself to her brother she heard his comment, and chided him from clear across the room. "Honestly, Harry, be nice. Draco Malfoy is the first person that I've met on the train that was actually nice to me, and thanks to him I now have at least seven new friends." On hearing his sister's voice in his head he looked around wildly for her until he saw her standing with a group of girls clear across the crowded room and waved.

The students were then greeted by a stern looking witch with dark green robes and a pointy hat with a single feather sticking out of it. After introducing herself and telling them about the four Hogwarts houses, and the point system, she led them into the great hall and they all stood before the entire school as an old looking wizards hat was placed upon a stool.

As names were called out she looked around at all of the students that were sitting at their respective house tables, then up at the staff table where the professors sat. It was then that she noticed the familiar black eyes of the man, who had protected her months ago. She reached out to him mentally somehow knowing that he would hear her and be able to answer.

"Hello, Sir, it's a pleasure to see you again," she thought to him with a slight smile and a gentle nod. On hearing the voice in his head he immediately looked up and their eyes locked for the briefest second before he mentally sent her his reply.

"I am glad to find, that you've made it to Hogwarts, Miss Potter. I am Professor Severus Snape, and I am the head of Slytherin house as well as your potions professor. I wish to continue to protect you and to get to know you better. If the sorting hat gives you a choice, join Slytherin house," he thought to her as he raised his goblet and saluted her with a slight nod.

Serenity nodded then turned her attention back to the front as she heard her brother's name called. Harry sat under the hat for what seemed like a long time than it screamed out Gryffindor, just as she had predicted earlier on the train with her new friends. Then her name was being called and she stepped forward to be sorted.

Severus watched as both Potter children were sat under the sorting hat. It was the first time that he had truly gotten a good look at Harry. He indeed looked almost exactly like his father, but his eyes were the same color that once belonged to his mother. Serenity Rose Potter, on the other hand was the spitting image of her mother as she sat under the sorting hat. He found himself mentally transported back in time to another sorting, one that he would remember for the rest of his life as it was the sorting that had taken from him the only friend that he ever had.

He was so lost in his memories that he only snapped back to reality as the sorting hat suddenly shouted out Slytherin, and his house table erupted into rowdy applause and shouts and cheers over the fact that they too, now had one of the twins who lived among their house members. As Serenity stepped down from the stool to cheers and applause from her new housemates, she glanced over to where her brother was sitting at the Gryffindor table. He did not look pleased at her placement.

As the feast began Serenity wanted to eat a bit of everything that she saw, but she was unable to hold it down, and subsequently fainted as she attempted to not lose the contents of her stomach. She awoke an hour later with the sounds of the dark man that she now knew as her head of house and another motherly looking witch speaking in hushed tones at the foot of her bed in what looked like a hospital.

On listening to the adults as they spoke she learned that Draco and her other friends had told their head of house how she hadn't even eaten much on the train, and that she had been sick at least once while on the train as well. Her head of house then glanced down at her and noticed that she was awake. He quickly rushed over to her side, and took a seat on a chair beside her bed.

"Here, Miss Potter, drink these, they'll make you feel much better," said Madam Pomfrey as she handed a few potions over to the Slytherin head to ensure that his newest charge drank them all down.

"I suggest that you drink this one first, Miss Potter as it will settle your stomach," said her head of house in his soft soothing voice as he handed her one of the phials of potion to drink. "To answer your question before you ask it, that is a pepper-up potion, and this is a nutrient potion," he said as he handed her the other phial to drink.

Have you always had trouble with your stomach," he asked curiously?

"Yes, professor, but to be fair if you had grown up as I had only getting little to nothing to eat for most of your life, you wouldn't be able to eat real food very well either," she said hoping that she didn't sound disrespectful.

"You might be surprised about certain things that you and I have in common my Slytherin Princess. There are things that we shall discuss later after Madam Pomfrey has deemed you healthy enough to be released from the hospital wing. Rest for now, I will speak to you later," he said as he made her lay back onto the pillow and covered her with the blanket in a fatherly fashion.

After a thorough examination, Madam Pomfrey turned to Professor Snape with a worried expression on her face and quickly pulled him into her office. After closing the door behind her and placing a silencing ward on it so that they would not be overheard. "Severus, this is not good at all. According to my diagnostic scans, aside from being beaten severely, there's evidence of old injuries, broken bones that haven't mended properly due to medical neglect, and is suspect that she may have even been raped more than once since the last time that we've seen her," said Poppy as she paced the floor of her office angrily.

"How Albus could allow those poor children to live in such an abusive home is beyond me. I want her to stay here for a few days at least so that I can see about properly healing her of her older wounds, and work on building up her immune system, before she is allowed to join her class mates. I will arrange a private room for her here in the hospital wing, until she is strong enough to join the rest of her house."

"Perhaps, once Albus reads my medical report on the child, he will see fit to have them removed from their Aunt and Uncle's care," said Poppy as she scribbled madly on a piece of parchment.

"I doubt it, Poppy. I tried more times than I could count to convince him to move her and her brother from the home of the Muggles, but even after he saw my memories of how they had locked her out of the house in a rain storm and how she was badly bruised and scared, he still refused to remove them," said Severus angrily.

"Severus I don't like that look in your eyes. What are you thinking," asked Poppy with a knowing tone in her voice?

"Nothing Poppy, you're already involved far more than I wish that you were. Leave this to me, just believe me that I will do whatever it takes to save her and remove her from that situation even if it means betraying Albus to do it," he said as he peeked out of the glass window of Poppy's office to where Serenity was sleeping restlessly. "As soon as you get a chance to examine Mr. Potter, let me know. I want to ensure that he is not suffering as badly as his sister," said Severus as he left the office in a swirl of his black robes.

Chapter Five – School, Family, and Home will be next.