Long Way from Home


Three girls were arranged in a small circle on the lounge room oriental rug. Two, shy of identical, had their dark brown hair pulled back in long plaits running down their backs. The last, a little smaller than the other girls, had her raven-black hair hanging in two bunches in front of her chest.

In the middle of the girls' circle was an array of floating, spinning, and moving stones. The stones protected a collection of levitating colored gems. One by one, they'd take a turn to grab a single gemstone of a particular color from behind the protective wall of stones. When one girl, the raven-haired one, bumped a spinning rock, it crackled with a spark and she yelped, yanking her hand back.

"Oh, it got you, Essie," teased one of the other girls.

Essie scowled at her. "The rocks are spinning faster now that the game's half-way through, Lottie," she grumbled.

"Yet," said the last girl as she nimbly pulled a blue-green gem from behind a pair of oscillating rocks, "we manage."

The black-haired girl threw up her hands. "You play this a lot more than me!"

"Now, now," chided a teenager from behind the trio on the Sofa just steps away. "The game's hardly over Essie. Don't become a sore loser on Eileen and Lottie yet."

"Wha' kind o' advice is that?" asked a woman as she walked into the room, the hand of a little blonde toddler clutched in her own.

The teenager shrugged. "She's going to cry either way," she answered. "At least I can put it off a bit."

The woman gave an exasperated shake of her head. "Darla, yeh could help her instead," she said.

Darla grinned at the woman. "Ah, but how'd she get better then Edie?" she asked.

Edie huffed before reaching down and picking up the little girl. "Keep an eye on things, won't yeh? I'm goin' ter Hogsmeade with Calliope ter buy new stockings fer the girls." She sent a pointed look at the trio who were studiously ignoring her. "Our little imps decided ter turn theirs inter puppets."

Darla pouted. "Can't you take them with you?" she whined. "I'm ill and should be resting!"

Edie rolled her eyes as she stepped up next to the room's hearth. "Yeh can stay right where yeh are." She looked back at the girls who were now peeking at her out of the corners of their eyes. "An' the girls will entertain themselves right here in the lounge room til we're back or Sev finishes his classes, won't yeh?"

"Yes, Edie," the trio chorused.

Nodding her head in satisfaction. She reached up and took a handful of floo powder from the jar kept on the shelf attached to the hearth. Before she threw it into the hearth, she glanced back at all of them with narrowed eyes. "Behave," she warned. With that, she let her handful fall into the embers flicker at the bottom of the hearth and stepped inside, calling out her intended location.

Once Edie was gone, the girls returned to their game, and Darla watched. Until she fell asleep, anyway. When Lottie caught sight of her aunt's closed eyes, she listened to make sure her breathing was even. Grinning when she realized it was, she waved her hand over the top of the rocks and gems, causing them all to fall in a heap on the rug.

"Hey!" complained Essie. "I was going to win."

Eileen glared at her little sister. "No, you weren't," she said in a growl that was a perfect mimicry of their father's scolding tone.

Essie narrowed her eyes right back at Eileen. Lottie rolled her eyes at both before shoving them away from each other. "Come on," she said. "Darla's asleep. We can go play hide-and-seek in the passageways nearby."

Eileen, who was rubbing the shoulder Lottie shoved, frowned at her sister. "Edie said to stay here."

She rolled her eyes at her twin. "That's not a good reason to stay!" She turned a pleading look on her youngest sister. "Right, Essie?"

The girl glanced between them before saying, "No…"

"You're just saying that because you think you can win at hide-and-seek."

Essie puffed out her cheeks. "No!" she denied.

Before they could get in a row and wake Darla, Lottie pulled herself to her feet and began to tug on Essie's arm. "Come on!" she persisted. "Let's go play. We only have a while before Edie will be back."

"Only one round!" declared Eileen as she followed after Lottie and Essie as they head for the family quarter's exit into the halls of Hogwarts.

She laughed and grinned back at her twin. "Or two!"

A loud, dramatic sigh was her only reply.

-o-O-o-

Scampering into the classroom, Lottie swiveled her head around looking for a place to hide. If she strained her ears, she could just hear Essie yelling the number twenty. She had thirty more seconds to conceal herself from her sister. Spotting a cupboard in the far corner of the dusty classroom, Lottie made a beeline for it.

Swinging open a door, she winced when it creaked. Whoops. Hopefully, Essie didn't hear it all the way down the passageway (or Eileen for that matter.) Considering the inside, she dove down low to squeeze herself in on the bottom beneath the first shelf.

It was a little uncomfortable, but she fit and that was all that mattered. Reaching out, she closed the cabinet door and laid down in the darkness to wait. As she did so, she realized her shoulder was touching something hard and round.

Frowning to herself, she squirmed until she was laid on her side. In the dusty grayness of the cabinet, she could see that what she had been touching was what appeared to be a snowglobe. With the heel of her foot, Lottie pushed the cabinet door open just a sliver to let more light in. From the new light, her study of the globe became more detailed. She awed over there being a miniature Hogwarts inside of it. Above the Hogwarts hung gray clouds not dissimilar to the ones she'd spied in the sky outside from another classroom's window.

Smiling, she gave it a slight shake. However, no snow fell from the clouds. Instead, they cleared away and the globe seemed to brighten. Then, little people on brooms started to fly around near the mini Hogwarts's quidditch pitch. She snickered to herself. Lottie hadn't expected that to happen, but she enjoyed it all the same. Putting down the globe, she laid her cheek on her arm and just watched the tiny witches and wizards flying on their brooms.

However, once her legs began to go numb, Lottie started to squirm in her hiding place. After a couple of more minutes, she began to huff and grumble to herself. Finally, after what had to be upward ten minutes, Lottie got out of the cabinet. Stomping her feet, she said to herself, "I'm gonna find you, Essie! I didn't hide anywhere that clever."

A little peeved, Lottie stalked out of the classroom and into the corridor. "Essie!" she yelled down it. "Where are you? You're not Calliope, you should have been able to find me ages ago!"

Instead of one of her sisters' answering her, a pair of Hufflepuffs who were a short distance down the hallway startled at her voice. The one on the left's hair went from a mousy brown to pink. Lottie laughed, she knew that one's name! It was Nymphadora Tonks. Grinning, she ran over to the pair as they turned around. "Hi!" she said to them both. Tonks and the other girl, who she thought might be one of the two Jones girls, exchanged glances.

"Hello," Tonks returned. "Erm, what are you doing here?" she asked.

Looking around the pair and then behind herself, she answered, "I was playing with Eileen and Essie. Don't tell, okay?"

"Okay," agreed Tonks sounding strangely miffed at her admission.

Lottie ignored it. "You haven't seen them, have you?" she asked. "We agreed to stay in this corridor…"

"Uh, no," answered the maybe Jones girl.

Lottie huffed at this and crossed her arms. "They're trying to get me in trouble, I bet!" she grumbled.

"Maybe," agreed Tonks. "Or perhaps they think you left the corridor," she said. "Why don't we go find Professor Sprout together? Perhaps she's seen them."

Lottie considered this idea. It was possible, she supposed. Though why her sisters would have thought she would leave the corridor she didn't know. Those sorts of tricks were Darla's idea of fun, not hers. "I don't know," she said. "Professor Sprout will probably just tell on me to Sev."

Jones and Tonks looked at each other again. Then, smiling, Jones crouched down and said, "No, she won't! You're awfully cute. I bet you can charm her into keeping this one little secret."

She frowned, finding Jones's remark lordly. "She's almost as strict as Professor McGonagall," replied Lottie.

"With students, but you're not one!" broke in Tonks, grinning at her. "Come on," she persisted. "I'll show you my duckbill mouth trick."

Lottie took the offered hand of Jones. She wasn't convinced this would end well for her, but that did sound like a pretty brilliant trick. Together, the three walked down the corridors in the direction of Professor Sprout's office. As they did, Tonks morphed her mouth into a duckbill and back again a couple of times at Lottie's begging. As she hoped, it had been a wicked trick and made her even more envious of the teenager than she had been previously. Oh why did being a metamorphmagus have to be so rare?

Far too soon they reached Sprout's office and the Hufflepuffs led Lottie inside. The woman, who was behind her desk reading a magazine, put it aside at the sight of them. Her eyes flickered to Lottie and grew slightly wide.

"Why, who is this?" she asked Tonks and Jones.

The girls shrugged at their head of house. "We aren't sure," Jones said, which caused Lottie to frown. Everyone knew who she was, even if she didn't know them. "She was in a corridor on the ground floor and said she'd been playing with her sisters there," explained the teenager.

"Hmm," murmured Professor Sprout. "Thank you for bringing her here, Ms. Jones and Ms. Tonks," she said. "You may go."

The girls thanked the professor and with one last backward glance each they were gone, leaving Lottie alone with Professor Sprout. Lottie returned her stare to the witch and she stared back. After a long moment of strange silence between them, the professor asked, "What is your name?"

Lottie blinked. She must have misheard Professor Sprout. "What?" she said.

The witch's brows furrowed. "Your name," she said, sharper. "What is your name?"

This time, Lottie gaped. "You aren't being serious!" she exclaimed. "You know my name! I've known you as long as I can remember!"

Professor Sprout leaned back in her chair and shook her head. "Miss, we both know that isn't the case. I'm unsure who your sisters are and what type of prank they've roped you into, but you must give me your name. Your parents must be missing you."

Lottie couldn't form coherent words. All she could do was shake her head wildly as she tried to understand what was going on. She thought this was a prank? That was just ridiculous! When she felt a little more in control, Lottie narrowed her eyes at the professor. The witch was watching her with stern, but concerned eyes. As she considered Professor Sprout, Lottie began to wonder if she wasn't being pranked. Possibly to punish her for being out in the corridors during class hours?

That seemed almost possible.

Putting on a sweet smile, Lottie said, "Oh, I understand." The concern on Professor Sprout's face seemed to deepen at her words, but Lottie ignored it. "I know it was wrong of us to play in the corridors during class hours," she told the witch. "I'm sorry. We only wanted to play a little bit, but that was wrong. Sev and Edie have their rules about leaving our quarters for a reason."

Apparently flabbergasted by her words, Professor Sprout sputtered, "What in Merlin's name are you talking about?"

Lottie's smile fell and an angry scowl replaced it. Oh, this wasn't fair! She'd apologized and even admitted she was wrong to play in the corridors with her sisters. This silly "prank" the witch was playing on her should be over now! Balling her hands into fists, she stamped her foot. "What am I talking about?" she growled. "Why are you still playing this trick on me? I said I was sorry!"

"Trick?" echoed the witch, wide-eyed. "Little girl, you are talking like a mad hatter."

Lottie, entirely fed up, fought down the urge to cry. Instead, she forced back her tears and lifted her nose high into the air. If the professor wasn't going to give up the ruse on her own, she would make her. "Take me to the headmaster," she demanded. "He'll end this stupid game."

Professor Sprout frowned at her words. "You will tell him who you are?" she asked.

Lottie rolled her eyes. "I won't need to," she said.

The witch eyed her. Then, she sighed. "Very well," she replied wearily. "Let us go see the Headmaster."

-O-

Stepping out from behind the woman, Lottie grinned with relief when she saw that the headmaster was seated behind his desk. Bounding forward, she exclaimed, "Professor!"

His brows furrowed slightly before his eyes lit with mirth. Smiling back at Lottie, Professor Dumbledore said, "Hello, child." He then looked to Professor Sprout who'd come to stand behind Lottie. "Pomona, who is this young lady you have here?"

Lottie's heart felt as if it's been struck with a stunning curse. For a moment, all she could do was gape at the old man as the witch behind her murmured, "Well…"

Fresh tears sprung to Lottie's eyes. In a shrill pitch, she yelled at them, "This prank isn't funny anymore! You all know me! Professor McGonagall even when I was in Edie's stomach."

Now standing, the old man started to come around his desk, hands moving in a calming gesture. "Child, why don't we all take a moment to calm down—"

"No!" roared Lottie over the top of the headmaster's placating words. She was so furious. It was one thing to play a bit of a trick to teach them, but this was just mean. Voice cracking from the volume she was screaming at, she demanded, "You're all being a bunch of berks! I want Sev." Head swiveling around, she looked for the man but found him nowhere.

He'd never let her get this upset before— At least not after she'd already given into his punishments. Lottie had to believe that meant she wasn't in on whatever this lesson was. Looking at Professor Dumbledore who now stood just feet from her through watery eyes, she cried, "Where's my dad?" Sucking in a stuttering breath, she threatened them. "He never plays pranks and won't put up with them for anything and will give you it for this!"

The headmaster sighed and turned his attention away from her. It seemed he'd given up on asking her questions. "Pomona," he said, looking past Lottie and to the other professor, "this Sev she mentions…?"

"I think she means Severus, yes."

"Why don't you go retrieve him while I continue to try and understand how our young friend has found herself here?" he requested.

"Of course, sir," agreed the witch.

As she left, Lottie hissed at the man, "I'm right here."

"Yes, you are," he replied looking down at her with a critical eye.

Wiping the tears from her face with the sleeve of her robe, she told him, "I don't like this."

"I can't say I do either, child," said the headmaster. Lottie tensed as he moved closer to her, but relaxed when he stooped down and offered her a handkerchief. As she took his offering and cleaned up her face, Professor Dumbledore asked in a calm, gentle voice, "Will you tell me your name?"

Lottie gave the man a fresh glare for his troubles. "You know it."

Something flashed across the old man's face, but it was too quick for Lottie to catch as a tight smile followed immediately after. "Humor me, won't you?" he pressed.

She puffed out her cheeks and rolled her eyes. She didn't understand why they were trying to keep up this game still, but maybe if she played along just a little… "It's Lottie!" she answered in a loud burst.

"Thank you," said the old man only to press for more. "And your surname, my child?"

Lottie made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat as she felt her face flame hot. She thought of refusing him, but, instead, she sneered at the headmaster and spat, "I'll do you even better. My full name is Charlotte Minerva Snape!"

"Minerva Snape?" the headmaster echoed, seemingly shocked by both. His face pulled into an inscrutable expression as he asked, "Your mother, is—"

—Edie is my mum!" yelled Lottie, drowning out the rest of Professor Dumbledore's stupid and unfunny question. "As you know!" she added in a grumble beneath her breath.

The headmaster began to stroke his beard, troubled. "Hm…" he murmured as he rose back to his full height. "My child, Lottie," he said then, looking down at her. "Would you perhaps take a seat in the chair by the hearth, please?"

She wanted to refuse, she was so cross with Professor Dumbledore and everybody else, but she nodded. Professor Sprout had gone for her dad and he would make them all sorry for what they were doing to her soon enough. As requested, she walked to the chair and sat in it.

The headmaster continued to look at her with his strange expression, fingers absently twisting and tugging at his beard. For her part, she glared at him. "How old are you?" he inquired, earning a roll of her eyes from Lottie. At her reaction, he said, "I promise this is my last silly question."

Lottie narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. She didn't quite believe the old man, but on the off-chance he wasn't lying… "Eight," she answered.

"Hm…" the headmaster said again, much to her irritation. How was she supposed to take such a sound? It was on the tip of her tongue to demand what "hm" was supposed to mean, but the office doorway opened and Lottie jumped from her seat.

"Sev!" she cried at the sight of her father in his teaching robes. Running to him, she threw her arms around his middle and cried, "They're all being just terrible! They're playing some kind of prank I don't understand and I don't like it! Make it stop."

Her dad said nothing and the longer she clung to her dad, the more obvious it became that something was wrong. He was rigid beneath her arms and no hand had come to rest atop her head or on the back of her neck. In fact, out of the corners of her eyes, she could see his arms were held away from her, half bent, hands in the air.

Lottie pulled back. "Sev?" she whispered, staring up at her dad. In his eyes, as with everyone she'd come in contact with since she left the dusty, abandoned classroom, there was no recognition. Slowly, he lifted his gaze from Lottie and to the headmaster behind her.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded her dad.

Lottie's hands fell from around her father and she felt herself begin to shake. "You… You…"

Behind her dad's shoulder, Professor Sprout pulled a face of sympathy as Lottie began to sob. "Oh, love," she clucked coming around to wrap her in her thick warm arms as around them the headmaster and her dad spoke.

"She says her name is Lottie Snape."

"I know of no Snapes besides myself."

"She recognized you."

"The girl mentioned a prank."

"Ms. Lottie recognized myself and Pomona and a few students by name."

"Yet no one knows her?"

"No."

"Hmm…" her father concluded before stepping in a half-circle around her and Professor Sprout to stand in front of them. "Pomona, if you would please turn the girl in my direction."

The woman's hold on Lottie only tightened. "She's a little girl, Snape."

Irritation flashed across her father's face. "I can see that," he grumbled.

Reluctantly, the professor extracted Lottie from her front and made her stand so she had to look at her dad again. "Where are you from?" he demanded, speaking much more harshly with her than was typical.

Miserable and frightened, Lottie did not answer immediately. Instead, she searched her father's face, trying to understand what was happening. Was this man not her Sev? Even though his face was the same? His voice identical? His mannerisms a perfect mimicry? He cleared his throat at her and she jumped a little under the arm of Professor Sprout.

Her fingers squeezed her arm reassuringly as her dad's eyes turned upward to the woman's face. As he glared at the professor, Lottie whispered, "Here, at Hogwarts." Pleading, she continued, "With you and Edie. Darla's in the dorms now, but technically with her and my sisters too."

Her dad (or maybe his double?) stared at her. "I live alone," he replied.

She bit her lip. "I do live with you," she insisted. "You're my dad. I…" mind racing, she started to rattle off everything she knew about him. "You teach potions here. Your and Darla's mum's name is Eileen and your dad was Tobias. They died when Darla was very little in a fire. When you were my age you lived in the Muggle world. The only sweet you like is black licorice wands and you take your tea plain 'cause that's how you drank it growing up. I know your family didn't have much money and so the milk your family had only gone toward your parents' tea and cooking…"

He seemed stunned by everything she was telling him and behind her dad, Albus murmured, "She seems to know quite a bit about you."

"I have no sister," refuted Severus. "Nor a wife or any daughters. So I rather think it cancels out what she does know, hm?"

A sweaty panic overtook Lottie and she was going to argue, but before she could, Albus came to stand beside Severus. His eyes were appraising. "Perhaps not," he replied. Reaching out to her, he said, "Child, can you tell me if anything strange has happened to you today?"

"Besides this?" she questioned, tone high-pitched from the mess her emotions were in.

He smiled at her and said, "I think if you can relay your day to us we may be able to sort this all out."

Slowly, she nodded. If it would fix whatever was going on, Lottie was all for it. "It was pretty normal," she admitted. "Sev went to teach classes, Edie needed to do some shopping and took Calliope with her. Darla was in our quarters 'cause she's sick and didn't want to sleep in her dorm. She was supposed to be watching me an' my sisters Eileen and Essie in the lounge, but she fell asleep and we went to play hide n' seek in the nearby classrooms.

"It was mine an' Eileen's turn to hide. I went into a really dusty room and I saw this old cabinet in one corner. I went to go hide in it. I opened it up an' I squished myself on the very bottom shelf. Something was digging into my back so I wriggled around and saw it was this… not a snowglobe exactly, but close. It was really pretty. It had a mini Hogwarts inside and here were clouds at the top of the sphere. Making it cloudy, you know? Like it was outside.

"I shook it to see if snow would come down from them, but all that happened was they cleared away and the globe got brighter like it was sunny in there instead of cloudy. It was actually kind of wicked and I watched it for a while because I saw that little brooms with people on them were flying around Hogwarts too. It got boring eventually and I realized Essie hadn't found me either. I was getting sore, so I got out and wandered out of the classroom to see if I couldn't find my sisters."

"Is that when you ran into Ms. Tonks and Ms. Jones?" questioned Professor Sprout.

Lottie bent her head back to stare up at the woman's square chin. "Uh-huh."

"Lottie," said the headmaster, causing her to snap her attention back to the man. "This globe and classroom, could you take us to it?"

She bobbed her head in agreement. Relieved that they seemed not only interested in her story but appeared to believe it too. "Yeah!"

"Take us there, please," requested the headmaster.

Stepping out of Professor Sprout's arms, Lottie became the leader of their little party and re-traced the steps she'd taken that day to the still very dusty classroom. Going over to the cabinet she'd crawled out of just an hour again, she got back down on her hands and knees and reached into the bottom shelf for the globe. "Please be very careful not to shake it, child," called Professor Dumbledore.

Lottie looked over her shoulder and flashed him a smile. "Yes, sir." As instructed, she gripped the snowglobe in two hands and brought it out into the light slowly. Once it was outside the cabinet, she turned around and held it up for the headmaster and professors to see. "This is it," she told them.

The headmaster's face was troubled and Lottie bit her lip. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

Reaching down and taking the snow globe from her, he sighed. "No," he answered. "This is not your fault." Bringing out his wand, he cast several spells on the globe before shrinking it down and putting it in a pocket of his lurid ochre robes. "I will need to speak with several contacts," he explained to Professor Sprout and Sev. "Possibly an Unspeakable from the Ministry as well."

That panicky feeling from before shot through Lottie again twice as fast as before. "Why?" she demanded. "What's happened?"

Eyes soft, the headmaster reached for one of her hands and pulled her to her feet. Keeping her hand firmly between his long fingers, he explained, "I believe this snowglobe is a Reality-Shifter."

"A what?' she whispered.

"There are many theories about existence. One is that there are many, many different worlds. Such as there being one world where the sky is purple instead of blue. In another, someone, such as Merlin, may not exist. This globe is supposed to take the user to different ones. They are very dangerous and very tricky objects. Once shaken, a witch or wizard will find themselves in a place that looks very much like their home but is not oftentimes. Getting back to your right home can be exceedingly difficult."

"What was it doing down there?" demanded Lottie as she felt tears start to gather in the corners of her eyes. She hadn't understood everything exactly. But she did figure out from the headmaster's explanation she was in some different world from the one she knew and that getting home would be very hard to do.

A storminess overcame Professor's usually bright eyes. "I do not know," he answered. "It should not have been."

Tears on her cheeks, Calliope asked, "What's going to happen to me?"

"We will take care of you," he assured, squeezing her hand, which he still held. "For tonight, you can stay in the infirmary and tomorrow, I will begin to make arrangements for you—"

"—I want to stay with Sev," cut in Lottie. Maybe the man wasn't her dad here, but he was her dad.

The headmaster fell silent and the three adults shared a look. "Child—" the headmaster started only for Lottie to cut him off again.

"He's still my dad," she insisted, glaring first at him, then at Sev. "He can look in my head. If you know how to do that here, anyway. I haven't been lying."

Her not-dad looked affronted at her words and the headmaster sighed. "That may not be the best idea…"

"Look," she insisted, staring Sev down and ignoring the headmaster. "You'll see I'm right."

His gaze changed and Professor Sprout hissed, "Snape, she is a little girl!"

The man shot the older witch a glare. "What of it? She has offered and clearly her father, a different me, has performed legilimency on her."

Lottie was only a little surprised when Sev's eyes connected with hers again that she felt him rifling through her memories, looking at the earlier events of the day and then further back too. When he stopped, she placed a hand to her head, a slight headache starting behind her temples. "Sev doesn't do it nearly so fast," she whispered. "I'm dizzy."

The man looked unconcerned by her remark and both Professor Sprout and the headmaster were looking at Sev with disapproval. Lottie didn't let it bother her. Instead, she stumbled forward and grabbed at her not-dad's robe. "I want to stay with you," she insisted. "I know you."

He frowned. "You do not," he argued.

She scowled up at him. That was a lie. "You said before I knew a lot about you, even if you don't have a sister, wife, or daughters."

The man pressed his lips into a displeased line. However, before he could come up with a rebuke, the headmaster placed a hand on his shoulder. "This will be tricky to solve, but it will be. She would not stay with you for a very long time."

"You cannot be serious," replied her not-dad, glaring at Professor Dumbledore.

While at the same time Professor Sprout murmured, tone tremulous, "Surely someone else would be a better option…"

The old man was not put-off in the least by the stare Sev was leveling him with nor Professor Sprout's fretful wringing of her hands. "The girl has been through enough, we do not need to add to her turmoil by placing her someplace she would be uncomfortable."

"How, pray tell, are you expecting me to watch her?" demanded the man as he crossed his arms. "I have classes to teach during the day, essays, and exams that need grading in the evening, and twice a week I am required to patrol the castle at night. Also, let us not forget I am who is called for whenever issues arise with my students as Head of Slytherin!"

"You may leave her with Poppy in the infirmary during the day," replied the headmaster. "Ms. Lottie should be able to entertain herself relatively well with a little supervision." He turned a smile on her then. "Spending Severus's teaching hours in the infirmary will suit you, won't it?"

Lottie knew it wasn't actually a question, even so, she nodded and smiled. "Yes! I like visiting with my Poppy."

Severus raised an eyebrow, seemingly interested. "You call her by her first name?"

She shrugged. "She's basically our healer. She helped me an' Eileen be born. We go see her for everything you an' Edie can't fix."

Her not-dad was quiet, taking the information in. He then turned to Professor Dumbledore and furrowed his brows. "That still does not address the issue of night patrols and grading."

The old man shifted the smile he was still wearing to Severus. "You may call a house-elf to sit in your quarters during your patrols. I'm sure they will be pleased to be of assistance." Starting to chuckle, he remarked, "As for when you are doing your grading, much as she will be able to with Poppy, I suspect Ms. Lottie will be able to entertain herself." He glanced at her. "Won't you?"

Lottie nodded eagerly. "If you have some quidditch dolls or strings for me to make bracelets with I can be really good," she promised. Lottie bounced eagerly. "Oh! And nail varnish. When I paint my nails I'm quiet and still."

Both the headmaster and Professor Sprout were laughing. Her not-dad looked sour. "A trip to Hogsmeade will be in order it seems," he muttered. Then, to Professor Dumbledore, he said, "I still believe this will end badly."

The old man stopped laughing. Reaching out, he placed a reassuring hand on Severus's shoulder and told him, "I think you will surprise yourself, but if it does take a poor turn, I am a firecall away and new arrangements can be made."

"That won't be necessary," said Lottie in the same cadence as her not-dad when he was smug. "This will work."

This appeared to startle both Sev and Professor Sprout and draw yet another chortle from the headmaster. Before an uncertain silence could overcome the small group, Lottie's stomach gurgled, reminding her she had not eaten since breakfast.

His bearings regained at the sound, Severus sighed and glanced to the room's clock. He said, "It is nearly time for dinner. I suppose a visit to the kitchens is necessary?"

Lottie smiled. She was hungry. "Yes, please!"


Well, how did you enjoy the first chapter of Lottie's story? Did you like the reactions of everyone to her?

Thanks for reading :)