Disclaimer: I do not now nor will I ever own Harry Potter or anyone or thing from that series, but I do own Lilly Christina Potter.

Warning, if you didn't like the mushy stuff from the previous ch. then you probably won't like it from bout half way through because his thoughts get a bit mushy again. Sorry. And yes this will lead to an eventual relationship between the two of them but not for many years. It is just effecting them like this because it's the newness of the feelings that neither had ever really had but did want. He will end up as her protector and confidante and whatever else she needs platonically till she is of age then he will then start vying for her attention romantically but he will never force her into something that she doesn't want to do nor should do and even if she chooses another to be with he would still stay by her as whatever she needs but he wouldn't do anything improper to jeopardize either of them in anyway when she comes of age, I'm stating this now because I know that some may find this weird but he is not going to pursue a relationship with a 11 year old… he will wait till she's 17 before he starts to even try and it won't be too weird for witches and wizards with such age gaps because of just how long their lifespans are.

I'll be nice now and give you a recap of the last chapter here:

"Sev, can't you just get me a magical checkup, or whatever it's called, after we talk to that Dumbyldor person?" Did Sev just chuckle again? And he wasn't alone this time either, Dr. Johnson was chuckling also? Was it something I said?

"I knew she was smart, it just helps her even more that she has a quick wit also. Why didn't I suggest that Mr. Snape have that Madame Pomfrey run a magical scan to get a accurate account of just what all has happened to her." Dr. Johnson mused about while I got something else from Sev.

"When did I say that we were to go see Albus when we leave here? Just wait until Albus hears how Lilly says my name; it was fairly… amazing to hear? I am going to have to look into what Lilly can do to see if she can really read minds, fore that is the only way that she would have known that we were to see Albus when we leave here." Great going' Lil, now you will always have to be on guard. Damn it, I should have jut kept my mouth shut and let Sev do something that he would have regretted, but I wouldn't be able to get over the guilt so I guess I'll just deal with it.

"I suppose that would be agreeable. We have no other business here so we shall take our leave now. Oh, one more thing, to make sure that you won't speak of this meeting o the wrong people," he pauses and I hear an "Obliviate" come from him and the next thing I know I see a bright light.

After the light dimed Dr. Johnson said, "Hello, I am Dr. Johnson. Can I help you with anything?"

"No thank you. We were just leaving." and with that Sev led me out of the room and before I know it we are in the hospital's parking lot; at least this is better than that alley that we showed up in. After making sure that there was no way that we could be seen Sev held out his arm again and this time I didn't hesitate when I got a good grip n his arm. Then we were being sucked through that straw again.

Key for Conversations
Lilly: "Regular"
Severus Snape: Speaking – "Bold Italics" and Thoughts – "Italics"

Chapter 8: Birthday Talk

We ended up stopping seven times before we stopped in this little village, Hogsmeade if the sign is anything to go by. I can see a few little shops and that the farther along that a person was to go the more shops there would be. Oh, a candy store. I wish that we could go in there because I've never even seen a candy shop, let alone ever been in one, but I don't have any money with me. Damn, I don't have any money at all. I guess that Sev sees me looking at it, because he starts leading me towards it. When we got to the door he opened the door and just stood there waiting for me to go inside before him.

"I can't go in there." I say finally after about a minute of just standing there. He looked at me with a look that looked like a cross between shock and confusion, with a little bit of curiosity mixed in. He finally shut the door and led me to a nearby bench and sat down.

"Why do you say that?" he asked gently.

I take a deep breath then let it out before I answer with, "Because I have no money with me; actually, no money at all," all while looking at my shoes.

"Does she really think that he parents would leave her and her brother with nothing? Also does she not see that I was going to get her some candy and that does not require her to pay for it?" Sev thought quietly (authors note – yes THOUGHT quietly thoughts can be loud, quiet, conversational whatever you want them to be) and a little disappointed. "I was going to buy some candy for you as a birthday gift, so you wouldn't need any money for the candy. As to the second statement, that is untrue; you are actually quite wealthy; you and your brother."

"You were going to get me a present?" I asked surprised. I have never gotten a birthday present; instead I got more chores than I usually had to do. Sev looked shocked at how shocked I was.

"Has she never received a birthday present?" "Has no one ever given you a birthday present?" he finally asked. I knew that that was coming, but I didn't want to answer it. Why is it that I can't really lie to him? I've old him more than anybody has ever heard from me – talked to him more than anyone else for that matter.

"I get the privilege of doing more chores as a birthday present," I found myself saying; automatically reciting word for word what was drilled into my head by my grandpa.

"I swear that I will kill him if he has touched her any more than physically and mentally. If he took away that last bit of innocence… She has been treated worse than the Malfoys' house elf." "What exactly did your grandfather do to you?" Sev asked quietly through his teeth restraining anger so that he wouldn't scare me anymore.

"Umm… what exactly do you mean? You know that he hit me." I answer not really knowing what he was asking but I had an idea and wanted to check first.

"Has your grandfather ever touched you…?" Sev clarified. Yep that's what I thought he meant – sexually is the word that popped into his mind.

"He never touched me sexually, if that's what you mean." I answered quietly, resting my hand on his shoulder to try to get him to calm down. I guess it worked because he thought quietly, "Thank Merlin for that" and all signs of tension went away instantly.

"So how about that candy?" he asked me when I finally moved my hand back to my lap.

"I don't want you to waste your money on me," I said shyly.

"Just one smile would be worth it" "It wouldn't be a waste. Now get your ass in that candy shop now or I won't bother giving you the candy and I'll keep it for myself," he said in a tone that said he was teasing me.

"About that brother, what's his name? His name doesn't start with an "H" does it?" I said suddenly after I got off the bench and was heading to the candy shop. Sev had to side step me really fast to keep from running into me because apparently I had stopped mid step.

"Unless Harry no longer begins with an "H." why do you ask?" he asked.

"He was put with our Aunt and Uncle am I right?" I ask starting to get worried.

"Yes, as I have mentioned a few times now. What are all these questions leading up to?" he asked me starting to get annoyed. I just have a few more questions though before I say anything, so I can handle him getting annoyed till then.

"I just have a couple more questions, I'm sorry. Umm… is my aunt named after a flower?"

"I believe a Petunia is a type of flower, so yes."

"Umm… did you ever see her?" but I no longer needed him to answer because I saw a younger version of that lady from my dream. Shit.

"Yes. Are you quite finished with the questioning and ready to tell me what the blood hell is going on?" now he was really starting to get angry with me. What I did next I couldn't control it; I flinched away from Sev and started to cower away from him in fear that he might hurt me like my grandparents did when they got angry. I guess he saw it because when I looked at him he looked horrified. "Does she think that I would hurt her? You are such a git, of course she does, you know what she grew up around, that is the only logical answer – she thought you would hurt her. You were starting to let your anger get the best of you. You have to keep yourself in check; you can never let your guard down. Have you learned nothing in your years of being a spy or even from your years of being abused yourself" I heard him scold himself. "I am sorry if I started to scare you, it is just that I don't know where you were going with your questioning and I will tell you I am not a very patient man and I don't like being in the dark and asked leading questions from out of nowhere; Not to mention that you were speaking of your relatives as if you have heard of them. I wish that I could read your mind." Sev explained.

"I thought that you could use that legi–thingy to read someone's thoughts? If you want permission to use it on me, then you can use it on me now." I said a little more than confused.

"That is just it, I have tried to read your thoughts and see your memories, but I can't seem to do so. It is almost as if you were using an impenetrable form of occlumency on your mind. Now tell me, what was it you were getting at on the subject of your relatives?" he explained then asked with this look and tone of confusion about what is going on.

"I knew I was different. How am I doing that occlumency-thing without knowing I am? Have you ever met anyone like me? Am I such a freak?" I asked trying to get around answering him for now because I don't know how to explain what the questioning was about.

"You are not a "freak"," Sev practically growled out at me. "You are very special… very unlike… No, I can honestly say that I have met none like you before." "For one thing I only will ever have one mate for all eternity, unless killed beforehand" he thought as he answered me, "I have met those who use occlumency, but never subconsciously using it, fore it takes a great deal of concentration to use it and not appear to be using it," he explained a little more. Oh… I think I understand it a little better now, not by much though.

"Oh… Okay…" came my amazing answer.

"Now are you quite finished avoiding my question?" he asks with an eyebrow raised sounding somewhere between annoyance and curiosity. Interesting combo…

"Umm… well… I don't really know how to answer your question yet," I answered honestly.

"I believe I can keep up. Just start telling me about it," Sev answered sounding like he could understand me.

"Well, umm… I have dreams sir. Dreams where this whale of a man calls me "Boy" and whenever I do answer or talk to him I call him "Uncle Vernon". Sometimes there is this blonde woman that has a really long neck and kind of looks like a horse, other times there is this blonde whale of boy who is called "Dudley". Did I mention that when I had to address her I called her "Aunt Petunia?" also at one point I was thinking "The Dursleys won't give me my letters."" When I finish saying all of that I look back at Sev because he was really quiet. Great, just great, now he's gonna think that I'm crazy. Good goin' Lilly.

"She has to have seen through her brothers eyes; because the Dursleys are who the Potter boy is staying with. He's being pampered there no doubt." Sev thought and if only he knew how wrong he was.

"Umm… Sev? Did I happen to mention that in most of the dreams the two whale sized people were abusing me? Also while the one who was called "Petunia" either ignored my shouts for help, or walked away? Well… umm… yea, that's what I saw and felt in most of my dreams as "Boy". I never did find out who it was that I supposedly was. He was only ever called by "freak", "bastard", "boy", "abomination", and things like that. It was awful," I said quietly and sadly because most of what he was called. Poor "Boy".

Sev looked honestly shocked at what I said. "Did you ever see yourself in these dreams?" Sev asked once he got control of himself.

"I only saw that the arms were really skinny and he/I was very short. If I were to take a guess I'd say that he/I was just a little bit shorter than I am now and that's probably because almost whenever he/I was near someplace to sleep he/I was in a closet or cupboard, I can't remember which, but I remember calling it, or thinking it, "mine" or "my" if that helps any. In fact, in a dream that I had about a month or so ago he got a letter that was addressed to a "Mr. H. Potter, Cupboard under the Stairs", so I'm guessing that it was a cupboard that he was locked in when he wasn't being beaten or doing his chores." I answer honestly. Maybe I was seeing through my brothers' eyes. I wonder if it is normal.

"Are you alright?" I hear from Sev, but it is so far away so I look over at him. He just looks at me like he's waiting for something and I don't know what it is because at that moment his mind was completely blank. "Are you alright? You looked like you were lost somewhere in thought." Sev asked again in that draw of his. That accent of his is amazing. Oh, right, he wants me to answer him… I'd better do that before I find myself in a mental ward somewhere.

"Umm… yea, I'm fine. I was just thinking that maybe I might have seen through my brother's eyes. What is his name again?" I asked.

"You might have seen through your brothers' eyes, because from what I have gathered, twins have a connection, a sort of mind link if you will, to each other. You could very well have been seeing through your brothers' eyes. To answer your question, his name is Harry. You will be meeting him soon," he answered. "Now I'm going to go into honeydukes and to get you a birthday gift, now come." He then continues with a playful glare (I didn't know that a glare could be playful…), "And I will hear no more nonsense of it not being necessary. Then when we get out of there we will go up to Hogwarts for that checkup" he finishes. Damn, he's good.

"Yes sir" I mumble and follow him into the candy shop.

****** 10 minutes later ******

"Thank you Sev… I mean Severus," I said then quickly corrected myself. Oops, he heard the slip and is now looking at me with this glint that I can't identify in his eyes along with warmth and a few other things I don't know, all with an eyebrow raised.

"Sev huh. Whatever possessed you to call me that?" he asks with amusement and something else.

"Well… umm…" I stutter. "Umm… yea… well… I… I… it's just hard to call you Severus all the time. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." I finish quickly. Then out of nowhere he starts to laugh.

"She is so like her mum. Lily said something similar to that when we were kids. She too called me Sev, and till now she was the only person I allowed to call me that, but I think I like Lilly calling me Sev more than I liked her mum calling me it." Sev thought while laughing.

"Umm… excuse me Severus, but I have to ask, did you ever know my mom and dad?" I ask. That makes him stop laughing really fast.

"Actually yes, I knew them both. Though I knew one better than the other, but both of them nonetheless. Your mum and I were very close friends until I did something stupid and drove her away when we were sixteen years old; as for your father, I wish he and I had never met. He and his gang of friends used to strut around the school and pull pranks; I usually was the butt of the pranks, though I did get back at them on numerous occasions." He answered after only a moments' hesitation then added, "You look just like your mum, except for your eyes. Those, unfortunately, are from your father" "though they look better on you and come to think about it, your eyes do have flecks of emerald green in them" "but I am sure that you were aware of that fact from living with your paternal grandparents."

"Yes I was aware of that. You seem vary, what's the word for it, fond of my mom. Do I want to know?" I ask Severus, but as I ask I feel this pang of I don't really recognize. Is this that thing that I heard called jealousy? I don't know, I don't even think I want to know because it makes no sense; I don't even know what I could be jealous about. Come on Lil, get a hold of yourself, your just too thankful for him taking you away from your grandparents and being nice to you, get over it, it won't last, you should know this.

"Should I tell her I had an infatuation with her mum when we were young and that I still harbor some of those feelings? No, she doesn't need to know all of that. How much should I tell her? Why is she starting to look dejected? Can you hear me Lilly? Can you read my mind?" Severus asks in his mind. I can't answer him so I just look on as if I didn't hear anything.

I just have one question, why do I feel so bad that he liked my mom. I mean come on, there's no reason for me to feel sad; I should actually feel happy, someone can finally tell me about them. Sure he did take me away from my grandparents, defended me against them, and makes me feel safe. Not to mention that that accent of his is amazing, and he looks so dark and mysterious… Okay, fine, I have a, what is it called, a crush on a soon to be teacher… So what, it's not like you expect him to feel something towards you, come on now, your young enough to be his daughter. Nothing else will ever be felt towards you, ever, so get over it. Besides it's probably just hero worship that you're feeling and thinking that it's a crush anyway.

"What exactly is it that you are inquiring about? Your mums and y relationship towards one another?" he asked finally.

"Yea" I answer quietly.

"I guess I should tell her, she will need to know eventually after all." "She and I were friends. She was my first friend in fact. We met, well formally met, when we were quite young, naught but eight years of age. She was my best friend, she defended me from your father and his gang because she was too a Gryffindor, one of the four houses that Hogwarts is split into, where as I was a Slytherin; typically Gryffindors and Slytherins don't get along, biggest house rivalries in the school. I have to say I did have n infatuation on your mum, but she only saw me as a fried, a close friend, but a friend nonetheless. Then when we, your mum and I were fifteen years old we had a fallout of sorts, one I regret to this day. We had just finished our OWL's, the exams that all fifth years are to take, then your father and his gang decided I was to be the butt of his joke, then one thing led to another and I told Lily that I could take care of myself, among other things that were said... after all was said and done I tried to reconcile for what I had said, but she wouldn't hear me out, and that was the end of our friendship unfortunately," he answered. Towards the end of his answer he started getting this far-off look in his eyes along with a look of pain, sadness, ad regret. I guess I have to ask the question now…

"You loved her; you still love her don't you?" there, I said it and I had to make sure that none of my feelings leaked through my voice or facial expressions, so I think I did well.

"Did she honestly just ask me that? Why do I see sadness in her eyes? Does she already accept me as her mate already even if it's subconsciously? How should I answer that? I guess I shall just have to be honest, that seems to have worked so far." "To answer your first question" "even though it wasn't really directed as such," "yes, I thought that I was in love with her. Though to answer your second question, I still do love her, but I am not in love with her. I see now that she was not the one for me," he says sounding like he wants to say more, but doesn't at the same time.

Now or never to say it, you know that it is what he wants to say. "You mean like, she wasn't your soul mate?" There I asked.

"How did she get that?" "Yes, that is what I mean" he answered bluntly.

"Sir, from the look in your eyes while you were talkin' 'bout her, it seems that you are still in love with her" I told him. I guess my jealousy is starting to leak through because he looks at me slightly shocked and then raises his eyebrow clearing his face of any emotion.

"Is she jealous of her mum? That is what it sounds like. Oh Lilly, if only you knew how truly wrong you are about that statement… Get a grip Severus; you are hearing just what you want to hear…" "Believe what you will" and with that he stops talking to me and continues walking and I follow looking down at my feet. By the time I look up from my feet I see something I never expected…

Authors note: you were warned at the beginning of the chapter that Snape was gonna be a bit mushier in this chapter. Also, I know that I did give an 11 year old a bit of a mouth (cussing and all) but remember who she was living with. Her grandparents would always cuss her out and stuff like that or she doesn't really know that they are bad words, but she does know that they aren't that good either but she still uses them only when she's annoyed or insert strong emotion here. Also, I know that I kinda made the "crush on Severus" a little too fast and a little to irrational, but remember that this is really the 1st time that she's been around someone that doesn't treat her mean or ignore her all together. But yea, and sorry 'bout how long it took to get this chapter up, I haven't been feeling too well, that and I haven had any motivation because I've gotten no feedback on the last few chapters so yea… well please review… thank you,

Lots of love,
Lilly