A/N:I edited most of the previous chapters. Minor details here and there, nothing too important.
Chapter 5
"You've been acting odd lately, Severus. What's going on my boy?" Albus asked his potions professor. Snape had just come back from yet another trip to the alley in a vain attempt at seeing the ghost of Lily again. He had been trying to find out more information ever since that day, several months ago.
"It's nothing." Snape said gruffly. "I haven't been sleeping well."
"And your strange disappearances? You seem to spend most of your free time outside of the castle." Albus said, his eyes twinkling in concern.
"I've been trying to hunt down an old friend." Severus said evasively. "I saw them a while back, and I haven't been able to discover where they got off to." He intentionally kept his gaze from meeting the headmaster's. He may be a master at occlumency, but Albus seemed to have an annoying ability to see through his shields.
"An old friend? I was under the impression that you didn't have any!" Karkus Abbot, the defense against the dark arts professor exclaimed. He was an old, dumpy looking man who rarely seemed to be even capable of telling which end of the wand to point at his target.
Snape leveled a hateful glare at the man, silently hoping that the curse would get to him sooner rather than later. The Great Hall was mostly empty during the winter holidays, but there were several students seemingly laughing at Snape' misfortune.
"If you'll excuse me, I left a cauldron on the fire." Snape said, robes billowing as he left the table. The teachers entrance slammed shut behind him as he exited the hall.
Albus just sighed, not bothering to go after the man. He would have to catch up to him later.
( | )/_/ _( O ) \_\(_|_)"Rose! Come down here! There's someone here that needs to talk with you!" Selene called.
Running feet could be heard as Rose descended the stairs. She came to the living room and stopped dead in the doorway. Before her sat a beautiful woman with blue skin and flowing white hair.
"Hello Rose." The woman said. Rose awoke from her stupor and sat down on the chair across from the woman. Her mother was sitting on the couch with the woman, chatting amicably with her.
"Who're you?" Rose asked tactlessly. Selene glared at Rose, who gave a sheepish look back at her mother. The woman, however, chuckled at the by play.
"I am Blizzard of the Winter Circle, young Summer. I was contacted by your mother here, because you recently found out about your heritage."
"You mean you're a fairy princess like me?"
"Not exactly. I am one of three of the Winter Circle. We share the power equally, though I am the eldest. I'm here today to inform you of what exactly you are to expect from being fey."
"The goblin said something about me being a queen or something."
Blizzard laughed at that. "Queen indeed. You are the last of the Summer Circle, at least that we know of, and already considered fey royalty. You technically hold the same rank that I do, though you also could be considered a queen, as there are no others who hold your title. Basically, you're queen by default."
"Good. I'd rather be a princess than a queen." Blizzard smirked at that.
"Either way, there are a few important things that I need to tell you. First, you can't tell anyone about your heritage. If people were to find out, you would be hunted down, captured, and possibly killed."
"Why?" Rose asked fearfully.
"Because the fey circles hold a lot of magic power, and if they were to die off, that magic could be siphoned off. Basically, each Circle, which there are two remaining, acts as a battery of sorts. All fey draw from them as both a source of magic and a source of life energy. If the Circles were to completely vanish, all fey would at the very least lose their magic, if not die outright. The Archfey, you and I, are the guardians of the Circles, and therefore can access more from them. Though there is a strange imbalance on what can be accessed. Because there is only one of the Summer Circle, you can call upon more power than myself. But because there is only you in the Circle, there is less magic all together. So in reality, I would have more as there are three of Winter."
"That sort of makes sense."
"Don't worry if it doesn't. even I can't figure out why that is. But that brings us to my last point. There is a… being… out there that is specifically trying to wipe out all fey. That is why there are so few Winter and Summer, and also why there is only those two Circles left. My sisters and I call this being the Dark One, as we don't know who or what this being actually is."
"Okay…"
"Basically, as you are still young, you should be fine, but don't go bandying about your fey magic, nor tell others about your heritage. You, as a witch, should be able to mask yourself sufficiently, at least until you reach your transformation."
"My what?"
"Transformation. After you accrue enough fey magic, which is naturally produced by your body, you will transform, leaving your human form behind. As a Summer, your hair will become like fire, you skin will become a shade of gold, and your ears will become pointed. Much like myself."
"Truly?"
"Of course. But it won't come for some time yet. Probably around your mid thirties will the transformation occur."
"So, I have time."
"Yes. Now, before I go, is there anything you wish to ask of me before I leave?"
"How can I get in contact with you? Like if I'm in danger or something?"
"Don't worry too much about danger. We of the fey always look out for our own. And as for how to contact us? Send a letter. Owls can always find us. Just please don't reveal any information within your letters. You can never know if your letters are intercepted or not."
"Okay… that's all I needed to ask."
"Then I will take my leave. Good luck Rose Potter."
( | )/_/ _( O ) \_\(_|_)A letter smacked Severus in the face as he awoke a few months later. The hooting of the owl sounded awfully like laughter as it fluttered out the open window. Grumbling to himself, the sallow faced man examined the letter carefully. After casting several detection charms, he slowly opened the envelope. Inside was a letter, neatly scrawled in a feminine style, was a reply to his last-ditch effort to locate the girl. He had finally exhausted his patience and had tried sending a letter to the vaguely remembered name of the family that had accompanied her.
Dear Severus Snape,
My name is Selene Moore. I have received your curious request, and I am currently at a loss. I do not know how you found out about my daughter, Rose, but I suggest you keep that information to yourself.
Your request to meet with her will be denied, as I do not know who you are in relation to her. My husband and I feel that it would be inappropriate to let you near our daughter without any proper explanation. I understand that you claimed to be a friend of her mother, but there are circumstances preventing us from trusting you, and anyone else who call Hogwarts home.
I cannot simply allow you to meet with her, when we have kept her safe all of these years, without a single mention from you, or any other. She is very dear to us, and we won't let anything happen to her.
I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Sincerely,
Selene Anne Moore nee Nott
Snape crumpled the letter in his hand in anger at being denied his chance to discover the girl's true identity. Slowly he hid his anger behind his occlumency shields, allowing him to think clearly. 'They don't know me. Of course, they're not going to just let me visit them.' He thought.
Casting a spell to smooth the letter out, he began to write a quick reply:
Dear Selene,
I understand your concern, and honestly realized how I might have come off in my previous letter. I truly only want to ask if she is really Lily's daughter. I am aware of her son, Harry Potter, but was not aware of a daughter. Especially one as old as the boy would be.
If she is truly Lily's daughter, then I wish to meet with her. I fully understand that you or your husband would be there and will do so in any location you choose. I have Lily's old potion and charms notes which have many private notes and such within and wish to hand them over in person. I was a classmate of hers, and also a childhood friend.
If you still do not wish to meet with me, then I will simply leave you and your family alone.
Sincerely,
Severus Snape, Hogwarts Potion Professor
He sent the letter out using a Hogwarts owl that evening, when most of the other professors were out on their summer vacations.
( | )/_/ _( O ) \_\(_|_)"Are you sure it will be alright?" Selene asked, concerned.
"It will be fine. I will be there with you, and the others will be watching." Fae reassured her, amused at the situation.
"And are you certain that we can trust in him?"
"Trust him? Heavens no! But at the very least give him a chance. My sisters and I have been watching him, and we believe he is honest in his explanation to you. His main motivation seems to be searching for redemption or forgiveness for his past sins against Lily. I think he sees Lily, not Rose at the moment, and as such, he won't do anything to harm his chance."
"Do you know what he did to seek for forgiveness?"
"I believe he blames himself for her death. He was a Death Eater until he turned on Voldemort." Selene flinched at the name. "I'm not sure about his motivations for joining the Dark Lord originally, but he tried desperately to redeem himself for what he had done. But I will say he is a right awful git in his methods at times."
"That doesn't reassure me."
"I'm sure it doesn't. If it did, I would worry about how you raised Rose. But no matter. If it helps, you can leave at any time. I can deal with him, and make sure he leaves Rose alone."
"I'm just glad we're leaving Rose at home for this meeting."
"Just bring a photo. Muggle or otherwise. Just to reassure him we're not stringing him along. Not a lot of people like him all that much, and he might think we're out to get him."
"Well, you said he is a right awful git. I can see why people don't like him."
"Part of it is that they're gits to him in return. It's a self-perpetuating cycle."
"Doesn't make it right for him to act like that."
"No, it doesn't."
( | )/_/ _( O ) \_\(_|_)"Where are you going Severus? You seem almost elated."
"Nowhere important Albus. I finally got in contact with that old friend I mentioned. I'm on my way to meet with them."
"Alright then. Just hurry back, I'll need your help when I go looking for young Harry again."
"Are you sure that the Potter brat isn't dead? You said that all your tackers aren't working."
"I'm sure. Only one seems to be working, the one that states that he is alive."
"Have you been able to see his life stone? Maybe your little device is faulty."
"No. The goblins seem to be preventing me from seeing it. Lately they've been acting more aggressive towards me, so I might have to back off with my requests."
Snape scoffed at that. "You know, if they're protecting that life stone so actively, then maybe he is still alive. If he were dead, wouldn't they proclaim it as such? If nothing else than to get their greedy paws all over the Potter wealth."
"That is an interesting perspective. Maybe that is the case here. Thank you, Severus. You've given me hope."
Snape just rolled his eyes. "If you'll excuse me, I must be off. I'm already running late."
"Be seeing you then."
( | )/_/ _( O ) \_\(_|_)The Leaky Cauldron was filled to the brim with patrons. With summer almost over, they were giving it one last hurrah before they would have to return to their respective jobs or school. Even those who weren't on vacation seemed to be celebrating over something.
The private room on the second floor, however, was silent. Two women were waiting on their companion's arrival. Fae, who was acting quite bored, suddenly perked up. "I believe he's here."
"Took him long enough." Selene said, exasperated.
"Probably was held up by someone. He's not too late."
"I expected him to be waiting on us. Not the other way around. Oh well."
Just then, a knock sounded upon the door. "Come in, Professor." Fae said.
Severus Snape walked into the room carefully. He was looking around as if he was waiting for something to come out at him. He looked at the two women suspiciously for a moment, before continuing to examine the room.
"We're not going to hurt you Severus." Selene said carefully.
"I'm not worried about you. I seem to be followed by a pair of pranksters. It seemed every step I took in the bar, something happened to me or another close by." Fae looked amused at that.
"It might be the Weasley twins. I saw them downstairs as we headed up. I've heard that they're quite the menace at home." Selene said. "Their mother complains constantly about them when I see her in the apothecary. Something about wasting all their ingredients on pranks."
"Great. They're due to start Hogwarts this coming term. It will be a long seven years." Snape said in reply.
"Go ahead and sit down, and we can get started." Snape quickly joined the two women at the table. "If you will, could you put up some privacy wards? No need for eavesdroppers."
"You can't put them up yourself?" Snape asked.
"She's a squib. And I don't know how myself. I never had a use for them." Selene looked questioningly at her for that but understood why Fae had said that. No fey magic should be used in such a crowded area. Don't know who could be watching.
"Very well." Snape said, drawing his wand. A few spells later, he retuned his attention to the women before him. What he didn't notice, was that Fae placed a minor compulsion on Snape to tell the truth, and to trust in them.
"Now, before we begin, you need to understand that anything we say here must be kept secret. There are those that might be looking for her that could hurt her." Selene said.
"Who would be looking for her? I didn't even know she existed until I spotted her in the alley."
Selene sighed at that. So that's how he found them. "You'll understand in a while. First off, yes. She is Lily Potter's child." She slid a photograph over to Snape. He looked at it, wide eyed. "We are also aware at how closely she resembles her mother as well."
"But how? She only had one child with James." Snape said the name with no small amount of hate. Fae and Selene looked at each other for a moment. Fae nodded, allowing Selene to continue.
"Do you know a Petunia Dursley nee Evans?"
"Yes. She was Lily's sister. Why is she important?"
"It will become clear in a moment." Fae said. "But to continue, do you know how much she hated magic?"
"Yes. She despised Lily for it. I believe it started out as simple jealousy, but soon grew to utter hatred."
"Yes, well… Anyway, what would you think would happen if a magical child, specifically one birthed by Lily, would have been treated by her and her husband?"
Snape's eyes widened. "They would probably be mistreated. Abused even. Most likely in a misguided attempt to remove the magic from the child. If I where to make a guess, the child would probably become an obscurial."
"Yes, well, luckily that didn't happen." Selene said.
Snape's eyes narrowed at the insinuation. "Are you saying that Lily's child was raised by Petunia?"
"Yes. Up until almost four years ago now."
Snape's eyes hardened in anger. He slammed his occlumency shields over his temper, attempting to contain his rage. "What happened to her? What did she do to Lily's daughter?"
"That's where we need your assurance that nothing will leave this room. We will need a vow from you, to protect Rose." Selene said.
Snape glared at them for a moment before drawing his wand. "I, Severus Tobias Snape, hereby vow to never reveal any information learned here about Rose Lily Potter without express permission from Selene Anne Moore nee Nott. As I say, so mote it be!" The flash of light surrounding Snape confirmed that the vow was accepted.
Selene blinked her eyes in surprise. "How did you know her full name?"
"I over heard it in Gringotts. That's also how I learned yours as well."
"I see. Either way, let us continue." Fae said. "Now, here is where the story gets a little strange. Rose was not raised by Petunia. Harry Potter was."
"Then why require the vow? And why tell me about this?" Snape demanded.
"We're getting to that." Fae reassured him. "Harry was raised just as you assumed, he would have been. He was beaten, starved, treated like a house elf, you get the picture. I also know that he thought his name was Freak, not Harry Potter, as they never called him anything other than freak. That is until Christmas eve, 1985."
They were interrupted by a knock at the door. The door was then opened by the bar tender, Tom. "Anything for dinner? Or to drink? I'm just about to fire up the stove."
"No. I'm good for food. But I'll take a fire whiskey." Selene said. "Fae? What about you?"
"No, I'm good. I'll just steal something from you tonight." Snape just glared at Tom for the interruption.
"Very well then." He quickly left and returned with the bottle of whiskey and a few glasses. Money changed hands, and he was off once more.
"Anyway, as we were saying," Fae continued. "On that night, Harry was locked out of the house, and forced to shovel the drive. He was already starving and wasn't wearing the proper clothing. He tried to walk to a neighbor's house in an attempt to get warm but collapsed before he could arrive."
"We're not sure how, but he called out for help through some accidental magic. Someone answered his call, but it was already too late. He was on the brink of death." Selene said.
"And that's where I come in." Fae said. "His rescuer brought him to me, as they assumed that I might be able to help. You see, I and my family are very much interested in old magics and rituals. I'm well aware that most are banned by the ministry, but they and I were desperate."
"I used an old ritual that would essentially create a temporary catalyst to store his magic and soul in so that we could repair his body. The ritual went very wrong."
Snape looked at Fae with a strange look. "You're saying you dabble in dark magics, especially soul magics? You do know that those are extremely dangerous and that if someone in the ministry had found out, you would be executed for it right?"
"I'm aware."
"Not to mention all of the Dark Lords out there that would kill for a ritual that would do as you've described."
"I know. That's why the knowledge is locked behind a modified Fidelius. Only my family can access the knowledge, and only those of direct lineage as well. But anyway, the ritual failed. But not because of a mistake I made."
"Then how?"
"Somehow, Harry had more than one soul occupying his body."
"How?" Snape demanded.
"I'm not sure. Though we do know who they were. One was Harry, of course. Another, that we assume was his Lily's, was more of an imprint, not a true soul. This one was effectively acting as a shield, protecting Harry from the last one, a soul shard. A fragment of none other that Lord Voldemort."
"But… does that mean the Dark Lord is still alive?"
"Yes. I assume that there are more shards out there, as this one was quite small, but as long as one of them exists, Voldemort cannot die."
"Then where has he been for all this time?"
"Unknown. Probably trying to restore his body, so that he might return. But we've gotten off track. During the ritual, the souls all tried to enter the catalyst as designed. It would have still worked but it would be a bit unstable if it wasn't for the soul shard. It tried to attack Harry's soul, probably trying to take it over, or steal energy as it was very weak because of his near death. Whatever it was trying to do, however, was stopped by the soul shield. But when it did so, as the souls were no longer within a body, the shield then more or less bound itself to the catalyst. The shard remained within the boy's body, and Harry's soul was trapped behind the soul shield in the catalyst."
"I then was at a lost as to what to do. I couldn't return the boy's soul to the body as the shard would probably destroy him without the shield. I couldn't return the shield, because it had bound to the catalyst. So, I decided that I would have to create a new body for the boy, using the catalyst as a guide. I let the old body die, therefore killing the soul shard, and had the rescuer return the corpse. I then built a new body using yet another ritual, this one technically darker than the last, and transferred the catalyst within. The assumption was that as the catalyst broke down, the souls within would be released, and bind to the new body, but I was too hasty. The body hadn't fully formed yet, because the ritual would use the soul as a guide to create the new body. Kind of like a blueprint."
"The soul shield was released first, almost like it was scouting, trying to ensure that Harry's soul would be safe. But because the shield was first, the ritual used that as the blueprint, not Harry. When the ritual was complete, I had a young Lily, not Harry. I then checked to see which soul was piloting the body and found that it was Harry's soul."
"So, what you are saying, is that Rose is actually Harry?" Snape asked, confused.
"More or less. Rose is Rose. But Harry is now Rose. It's complicated. For simplicities sake, just assume that Rose is a new person, and that Harry, as he was, is now gone."
Snape began laughing at the news. Selene and Fae just looked bewildered at each other. After calming down, he explained himself. "I just got done telling Dumbledore that Harry was probably dead. He seems to believe that he isn't due to some device or another monitoring his life force, but he's not sure. Now I find that Harry is dead, but not, and that Albus will never find him!"
"That bastard has a device monitoring Rose!?" Selene yelled.
Snape looked at Selene apologetically. "He had several, but somehow, probably when Harry died, they all stopped working. I'm not sure what they were looking at, however. All I know is that the one he has left functions similarly to a life stone but is less accurate."
"Why?"
"He seems to have some unhealthy interest in him. Now that I know a bit about Rose, I can assume that he knew about the shard, and was watching him. He was the one to put Harry with the Dursley's. Of course, I didn't know this until now, as he never said where he put him, just that he was safe."
"Safe my ass! They killed him!" Selene exclaimed.
"It's done now." Fae said. "Rose is safe, we can just ignore him. Thanks for the information, Severus. But now, that brings us to the last bit of the story. I brought Rose to Selene and her husband because I knew that they were trying for a child with no luck. They then raised her lovingly."
"I can tell. She's very happy in this picture." Snape said solemnly. "She reminds me so much of Lily. Tell me, does she show any interest in charms or potions like her mother?"
"She shows interest in potions, and I have begun teaching her on her last birthday. As for charms, she is the only witch in the house, so we don't know. We do most things the muggle way."
"That's understandable." Snape said will a small sneer.
Fae seemed to come to some conclusion and brought herself up to be a bit imposing. "What do you think of Albus Dumbledore?"
Snape narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Dumbledore has wronged Rose many times now, and everything we find out about what he has done makes us hate him even more."
"What has he done to elicit that?"
"He's stolen tens of thousands of galleons from her vaults, he had those trackers you've told us about, he placed her with the Dursleys. He sealed the will of Lily and James Potter, preventing his placement with a multitude of others, arranged an illegal marriage contract between her and a young Ginevra Weasley probably more that I'm unaware of right now." Selene said. "Tell me, why should we send her to Hogwarts? She won't be safe anywhere near him."
Snape looked pensive at that. "To tell the truth? I don't have a reason. Not one I would deem good enough. Not unless you want to rub it in his face. However, if You-Know-Who is truly still alive, it won't matter where you send her, he will find her eventually. Hogwarts would be best, if nothing else than for the protection that proximity to Dumbledore would offer. Even then, we don't know how or when the Dark Lord will return."
"I guess that reason is as good as any."
"I also made a vow to Dumbledore to protect Harry Potter from the Dark Lord's influence, even if I thought it was just his followers at the time. The vow would still apply to Rose, which means that I will protect her while she is at Hogwarts as well. Regardless if she is in my house or not."
"Why did you make the vow?" Fae questioned.
Snape looked pained at that. "I owe James Potter a life debt. Because I never repaid it, it transferred over to Harry, now Rose. In addition, I caused Lily's death, even if it was unintentional. So, in an effort to atone, I made the vow."
"How did you kill Lily?" Fae asked accusingly.
A pained look crossed Snape's face. "If I tell you, you must also swear a vow to not tell anyone. This is important information that may still be in play. Especially with the fact that He-who-must-not-be-named may be out there."
"Very well." Selene and Fae said together. Selene clasped Fae's hand, and Fae produced a false wand out of her pocket. "I, Selene Anne Moore, hereby vow to never tell anyone the information that Severus Tobias Snape is about to tell us without his express permission. As I say, so mote it be!"
"I, Fae, hereby vow to never tell anyone the information that Severus Tobias Snape is about to tell us without his express permission. As I say, so mote it be!" There was a flash of light between the two women, signifying the vow.
Snape looked at Fae for a moment. "No last name?"
"None that you would recognize as one."
"Anyway, there is a prophecy. I don't know it in its entirety, but it was made before Rose was born. During my Death Eater days, I overheard the beginning portion of it, and notified the Dark Lord. About a year later, it was discovered that two children were born that would fit the prophecy. One of them being Harry Potter. After I realized this, I begged for Lily's life, hoping that he would spare her, but he blew me off. I went to Dumbledore, as I was a spy at the time, and begged him to ensure her safety. That's when they went under the Fidelius. A few days later, their secret keeper betrayed them, and they were killed."
Fae looked pensive at that. "So, while you weren't the one to kill her, you indirectly caused her death. And you blame yourself."
"Yes."
"At least it seems you are trying to atone." Selene said. "So, we have at least one reason to send her to Hogwarts. And you're saying you will protect her?"
"I will protect her from those who wish her harm. I can't really do much about any bullies and the like."
"That, at least, is an honest answer." Selene looked over to Fae. I think this meeting has gone on long enough. Please, keep in touch. We may have more questions for you."
"Very well. Please give these journals to your daughter. They're Lily's old notes and a few diary entries. Hopefully she'll enjoy them." Snape handed Selene a small bound package from his robes.
Neither of them noticed that the compulsion had never taken.
( | )/_/ _( O ) \_\(_|_)"How was your meeting, my boy?" Albus asked jovially.
Severus just glared at the headmaster before sneering. "Enlightening." He then strode purposefully to his home in the dungeons, robes billowing all the while.
Albus looked after him for a moment before he shook his head. Severus was back to his old self it looked like.