A/N Hello, all! This is my first Harry Potter fanfic. Snape is my absolute favorite character, but I don't really ship him with anyone in the books, so I thought I would pair him with an OC. So, for reference in this story, Elena Davies is in the same age as Tonks and Charlie Weasley, which makes her seven years older than Harry (and thirteen younger than Snape and Lupin). The story will follow her school years until after the wizarding war. I already have most of the chapters planned, but a lot of them need some work. I should *hopefully* be able to publish a chapter a week, but I make no promises. This is going to be a LONG story, and if you don't like slow burns, this is your chance to leave while you still can! Anyway, I'll write whatever I forgot to add in this a/n (because there's ALWAYS something I leave out) in the next chapter.

On Elena's eleventh birthday, an unexpected knock sounds on the front door at precisely twelve noon. The three sisters, who are all sitting and reading on the couch, turn to look at the door.

"Will one of you get the door, please?" Their mother calls from the kitchen.

It's Joanna, the oldest, who stands up first, shortly followed by Riley and Elena. They all make their way to the door. The two oldest push Elena behind them protectively.

Joanna pulls open the door and, upon seeing the oddly dressed stranger, asks, "Who are you?"

The man standing in front of them has greasy shoulder-length black hair; a hooked nose; pale skin; and dark brown, almost black, eyes. In a deep, drawling voice, he answers, "Professor Severus Snape. I am here to speak with the parents of Elena Davies."

Despite the fact that she's barely visible behind her two older, taller sisters, his eyes seem to find the girl in question almost immediately. He notices instantly that the girl has long chestnut hair that nearly goes all the way to her waist and contrasts beautifully with her alabaster skin; bright, shining blue eyes that are hidden behind a pair of large blue tortoise-shell glasses; and soft facial features that are accentuated perfectly by her high cheekbones.

Joanna eyes him warily and crosses her arms over her chest before moving slightly over to try to block even more of Elena from his view. "Why?"

Snape keeps his face devoid of emotion. "That is for your parents to know, not you."

Riley is just about to say something (no doubt snarky) when their mother walks out from the kitchen, drying her hands with a dishtowel. "Who's at the door?" She stops just behind Elena and places a kiss to the crown of her head, resting her hands on her shoulders, before looking up at the stranger.

"He says his name is Professor Snape," Riley answers, her arms crossed defensively.

Their mother smiles politely at him. "What can I help you with, Professor?"

Snape doesn't bother returning her smile. "I would like to speak to you and your husband about your daughter Elena."

Michelle grimaces. "That would be my ex-husband. I'll have to call him, so why don't you come in and wait in the sitting room?" She opens the door wider and closes it after he's entered. "I'll be right back. Girls, entertain our guest for a moment, won't you?" She walks back into the kitchen without waiting for an answer.

The three girls and Professor Snape, whose face is still emotionless, stand awkwardly in the entryway.

"What are you doing here?" Joanna asks again.

Instead of answering, Snape turns to Elena. He nods to the book in her hand and states, "You like to read."

Elena hugs the book to her chest as though it can shield her from the man.

Riley pushes Elena behind her again. "What does it matter if she likes to read?"

Snape raises an intrigued eyebrow but says nothing else, much to Riley's and Joanna's annoyance.

A few awkward silence-filled minutes later, their mother joins them again, a sour look on her face. "John will be here in ten minutes, and his girlfriend, Becky, is coming with him. Now, who wants some tea?"

Professor Snape, John, Becky, and Michelle all sit down in the study. They make sure the door is closed firmly behind them to keep prying eyes and ears away.

"Why are you here, Professor?" John snarls.

"To invite Elena to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

The tension in the air becomes palpable.

John leans forward in his seat and rests his elbows on the desk that is separating him from Snape. "Excuse me? I think I misheard you."

"You did not mishear me, Mr. Davies," Snape says calmly. "I am sure you know by now that your daughter possesses incredible powers, and-"

John interrupts him. "My daughter is no freak, and I will not allow her to go to that school."

Snape glares at him and forces himself not to clench his fists or show any other signs of his burning anger. "I agree with you that your daughter is not a freak. She is a witch."

"I will disown her if she goes to that school," John spits.

Both Becky and Michelle flinch.

Snape is taken aback by his words, but he recovers his composure quickly. "Even if Elena does not come to Hogwarts, you will never be able to change the fact that she is a witch. But if she does attend, she can learn to control her powers."

As though Snape is stupid, John repeats slowly and firmly, "I will disown her if she goes."

The men glare at each other, waiting for the other to budge.

"John," Becky says softly, "she's your daughter. You can't disown her over something she cannot change."

"No daughter of mine will be a freak and go to that school."

"Your daughter," Snape all but hisses, his anger boiling to the surface, "is not a freak."

"She's just as much of a freak as you are."

Snape takes a deep breath and forces his anger into a locked box in the back of his mind. "Then, in spite of simple-minded people like you, she will be an exceptional witch."

A tense, palpable silence takes over the small study.

Finally, Michelle speaks up, keeping her eyes firmly directed on Snape's. "I'm not sure about this whole thing, but I'll support her either way and finance her studies if she decides to attend the school. However, that is as far as my involvement will go with her… witchcraft training."

John turns his glare on Michelle.

Suddenly, the door disappears from the frame, and Elena, who was leaning up against it, falls into the room. She gets up quickly and brushes herself off.

All four adults turn to face her with varying looks of surprise. Michelle and Becky both look startled, John looks peeved, and Snape's lips twitch with amusement.

After a moment of shocked silence, John stands up, grabs Elena's arm tightly enough to bruise it, and shoves her harshly against the wall. Elena doesn't even flinch; she keeps a look of pure determination plastered on her face.

Snape keeps his composure despite being horrified with John's actions. He pulls out his wand and replaces the door before pointing it at John. "Release her right now."

John's grip only tightens as he sneers at Snape. "You think I'm afraid of you, do you?"

Snape looks into Elena's blue eyes that are filled with a fierceness he has never seen before in anyone, let alone a girl who is barely eleven years old. She gives him a tiny nod that only he catches. "Libero!" He says, aiming his wand at John's hand, which instantly slackens.

Elena pulls away from her father and puts as much distance between them as she can. She ends up standing beside Snape behind the study's desk. He is then surprised even further by her strength when she speaks for the first time since he's arrived. "I want to go to Hogwarts and train to be a witch." Her voice is firm and not at all what he was expecting. He thought it would be quiet, high-pitched, and shaky, but no, it's strong and alto.

John looks like he wants to shove her against the wall again, but one look at Snape's wand stops him. Instead, he glares at Elena for a long moment before grabbing Becky's hand and dragging her out of the room.

They all hear the front door slam behind the couple.

"Well," Michelle says, trying to break the awkward silence, "I guess that settles that matter."

Snape gives a clipped nod. "Yes, I suppose it does."

To give herself something to do, Michelle looks down at a piece of paper Snape handed her earlier. "I've no idea where to get all of these things."

"I will take her- and you as well, if you wish- to Diagon Alley to buy her school things this afternoon," Snape replies.

"I've told you: I will finance her school endeavors, but I will take no other part in her schooling."

Elena looks up at her mother with hopeful eyes. "Can Jojo and Riley come with me?"

Michelle is already shaking her head before she finishes. "No, dear, they have their own things to prepare for school."

Elena nods and resists the urge to frown in disappointment, barely managing to keep her smile on her face. "Okay."

Michelle brushes a strand of hair out of Elena's eyes. "Have you taken your medicine today?"

Elena's cheeks flush as she looks down at her feet. "Yes, Mum. I took it a little while ago."

Snape eyes them both curiously. "Medicine? Any and all medications have to be given to the school Healer for her to distribute when necessary."

"Yes, yes, of course. I'll send it with Elena on the day she leaves for school," Michelle says, giving Elena's shoulder a quick squeeze.

A little while later, once everything has been arranged for the year, Snape says, "Now, then, I think we should be going, Miss Davies, to get your school things. If you will take my arm, I will Apparate us to Diagon Alley," and holds out his arm out to Elena.

Elena doesn't even hesitate before grabbing his outstretched arm. Not a moment later, she feels as though she's being pressed on all sides, and there's a sudden coldness that seems to seep right into her bones. Almost as suddenly as it began, it stops. She falls to the ground on all fours, trying her hardest not to throw up the big breakfast she had this morning.

Snape kneels down beside her and lifts her hair out of her face. "I should have warned you about that. My apologies, Miss Davies."

"'S all good," she mumbles.

When she's satisfied that she won't actually vomit, Elena stands up and brushes the dirt off of herself. "I never want to do that again."

Snape holds in his chuckle, his perpetual scowl etching deeper into his face. "You will get used to it at some point, I am sure."

Elena rolls her eyes. "I sure hope not. That was dreadful! So, aside from that, where are we?" She looks around and sees people of all kinds milling about wearing similar clothing to Snape's.

"Diagon Alley," he answers simply. "Follow me, and I will help you find what you will need." He sets off at a brisk walk down the lane, Elena following closely behind him. "We first need to go to Gringotts, which is the wizarding bank."

"That's a strange name for a bank," Elena muses. "Why do we need to go there?"

"To exchange your muggle money for Wizarding Currency."

Elena is about to ask something else when someone crashes into her. She falls to the ground for the third time that day, someone landing on top of her.

The girl, who has long pink hair and bright green eyes, stands up quickly and offers her hand to Elena. "I am so sorry!" She squeals. "I tripped over an upraised stone, and next thing I know, I'm knocking you over."

Chuckling slightly, Elena takes the girl's hand and hoists herself back onto her feet. "It's alright. No harm, no foul."

The girl eyes her for a moment, then declares, "You must be another first year! I'm Tonks. Well, my name is actually Nymphadora, but I hate when people call me that, so I go by Tonks." She holds out her hand.

Elena takes it and gives it a firm shake. "Nice to meet you, Tonks. I'm Elena. Elena Davies." She notices Tonks's hair turning blue, and her eyebrows furrow. "I don't mean to alarm you, but your hair is changing colors."

Tonks's eyes cross slightly as she tries to look at the fringe of her bangs. "Oh, that's normal. I'm a Metamorphmagus."

This only confuses Elena even more. "A what?"

Tonks smiles sheepishly. "You must be a muggle-born." Then, seeming to think she has said something offensive, rushes to amend by saying, "Not that that is a bad thing. My father's a muggle-born, and he's an exceptional wizard."

Snape comes to stand behind Elena. "Hello, Nymphadora. Have you tripped over your own feet again?"

Tonks blushes and glares at Snape. "Hello, Professor."

"Where are your parents? Andromeda will not be happy to find out that you have left her side."

As if he summoned them, a man and woman come to stand on either side of Tonks. The woman, who Elena reckons is no older than thirty-five, has long curly black hair, a gentle, peaceful-looking face, and is the spitting image of Tonks. The man is tall and stout and has graying hair despite his youthful appearance.

"Now, now, Severus. Nymphadora is alright," the woman says. "Dora, why don't you and your new friend go get some ice cream at Florean's." She gives her daughter a slight nudge forward.

Before Elena can get a word in, Tonks grabs her arm and drags her down the cobbled street to what she can only guess is an ice cream parlor. She looks back at Snape for help, but he's already absorbed in conversation with the Tonkses.

"I don't have any money yet for my ice cream, but I'll pay you back once we've gone to Gringotts," Elena says once they come to a stop inside the parlor.

Tonks laughs. "Oh, don't be daft. When Mum tells me to bring a friend to get ice cream, it means that she wants to have a private conversation with someone and will pay me back later. Besides, I knocked you over, so this will be to make up for that. What flavor of ice cream do you think you're gonna get? I'm thinking of getting butterbeer and bubblegum, but they might taste weird together."

"What's butterbeer?"

Tonks stares at her, wide-eyed. "You don't know what butterbeer is? Oh, honey, that's going to change right now."

She marches determinedly up to the man behind the counter without another word to Elena. "I would like two scoops, please. One butterbeer, the other bubblegum. And my friend would like two scoops of butterbeer."

Once they have gotten their ice creams, the two girls sit down at a table outside.

"Thank you for the ice cream, Tonks."

"You're welcome."

Elena looks back at where Snape and Tonks's parents are standing. "What do you think they're talking about?"

"Who?" Tonks asks as she takes a big bite out of her ice cream.

"Snape and your parents."

Tonks shrugs. "Don't know, don't care. Snape's a tosser. It sucks that you got stuck with him being the one to introduce you to the Wizarding World. I thought Dumbledore usually went himself or sent McGonagall in his place, but apparently not. My guess is that Snape did something to tick Dumbledore off and this is his punishment."

Elena looks at her, bemused. "He seems quite nice. He even defended me to my parents when I chose to come to Hogwarts."

A bit of ice cream falls onto Tonks's lap in her surprise. "He what? I've never known Snape to be nice to anyone, and I've known him my entire life. Granted, he hated my Uncle Sirius, who I was extremely close with, so…. Maybe Dumbledore has threatened him to be nice? Either way, it's most likely a front, and I wouldn't trust it if I were you."

Elena says little else while they wait for the adults to finish their conversation. Instead, she listens to Tonks's rambling explanations of the Wizarding World and eats her ice cream, which tastes amazing, just as Tonks said it would.

A little while later, Snape comes over and tells Elena to say goodbye to Tonks.

Tonks gives her a two-fingered wave as she walks toward Flourish and Blotts with her parents and says, "I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express."

Elena waves after her. "Save me a seat!"

Snape starts walking them towards Gringotts. "Did you enjoy your chat with Miss Tonks?"

Elena grins widely. "Yeah! She told me a lot about the Wizarding World, so now I don't feel as oblivious to things as I was earlier today. Oh, and she introduced me to butterbeer ice cream, which is absolutely scrumptious!"

"It is good that you no longer feel so in the dark about everything since this is now your world. And just wait until you try actual butterbeer."

Elena looks up at him curiously, a slight tilt to her head. "It's more than just an ice cream flavor?"

He keeps himself from smiling. "There is still a lot you have yet to learn about the Wizarding World, Miss Davies."

Elena rolls her eyes as she turns her head to look around Diagon Alley.

They walk in silence for a few minutes before Snape asks, his voice much quieter and softer than usual (one might say he's concerned if they didn't know better), "Does your father usually treat you like that?"

Elena keeps her eyes determinedly trained on a window displaying brooms ahead of them. "No. And even if he did, he no longer wants me in his life, which he made very clear today."

"And that does not bother you?"

She takes a deep, steadying breath to force herself to stay calm. "Should it?"

Snape looks at her, masking his appalled expression. "Most people would be distraught to know their father is disowning them."

Elena shrugs. "Guess I'm not most people, then."

Another silence falls over them as they enter Gringotts.

Elena looks all around, wider eyed than before, as she takes in all of her new surroundings, their former conversation all but forgotten. "This is… wow. I've never seen, nor imagined, anything like this before."

Despite how much of a protest he put up with Dumbledore, Snape (not that he would admit it) is thankful he's the one chosen to show Elena the Wizarding World. He finds her innocent awe heartening.

After they leave Gringotts and make their way to Ollivander's, Snape says, "It is alright to admit if your father-"

"He doesn't abuse me if that's what you're getting at, sir," Elena grumbles, crossing her arms protectively over her chest, "and I would appreciate it greatly if you would just drop the subject. Please."

"The way your sisters are protective of you would say otherwise."

Elena stops and glares up at Snape, who also stops and turns to look at her. "My parents are divorced, my father has disowned me, and my life is fine. I don't need you- or anyone else, for that matter- digging up my past, thank you very much. What happened has happened, and nothing will ever change that little fact. You're a wizard, why don't you just read my mind to see if I'm lying? Or is that not possible even in the wizarding world?" She starts walking again without waiting for his answer.

Oh, it is possible, he thinks bitterly.

"Now that that conversation is over," she fixes him with a hard look, "where all are we going? What do I have to get?"

He lists everything, then says, "And you are allowed to bring an owl, toad, or cat if you so desire."

Elena's nose crinkles in confusion. "Why would I want to bring an owl? That seems like a strange animal to bring to school."

"In the Wizarding World, we use them to deliver letters."

"Oh! That makes sense! I want to get an owl so I can send letters to Jojo and Riles." She looks up at him expectantly, a smile on her lips.

"I will take you to the Owlery, then, once we have finished with the rest of our shopping."

If possible, her smile grows even wider.

A couple of hours later, laden with all of Elena's school things, the pair makes their way to the Magical Menagerie. An older witch behind the register greets them politely upon their entrance.

Elena looks all around her at the animals lining the walls and in their crates that are creating a maze within the store. "Wow."

Snape watches her as she prances around the store, looking at all of the animals she's never seen before.

She stops in front of a cage and turns to ask Snape, "What kind of animal is this? He almost looks like a cat, but I don't think that's what he is."

"That would be a kneazle," Snape answers simply. "You are looking for an owl, I thought?"

She turns away from the cage to face him. "Yes. Where are they?"

Snape points up at the ceiling.

Elena looks up and gasps in surprise when she sees the owls, all of them watching her, that are perched on the rafters. "How am I supposed to pick one out from down here?" She asks as she looks back down at Snape.

He smirks at her before whistling a strange tune. The owls all seem to be entranced by the song, and they all come fluttering down and land before the pair. "There you are, Miss Davies."

Elena gives him a quick smile before she turns her attention to the owls. She crouches low to look at them all. A little one with feathers as white as snow hops over to her; she figures that it must be no more than a few days old based on its size. When she holds her hands out to it, it hops right into them and nuzzles its tiny head against her palm. "You're just the most precious little thing, aren't you? I think I'll call you Snow. Do you like that name?" She whispers. The owl hoots in response.

"You cannot be serious," Snape tuts.

Elena stands up and turns to face him, the owl still in her hands. "Why not?" There's a challenge in her voice.

"Because that owl will not be able to fly two feet with a letter on its leg without falling."

She narrows her eyes at him. "It matters not the size of one's self, but their determination to accomplish their goal." Defiantly, she walks up to the register and pays for the owl, a cage, treats, food, and other necessary items.

Snape raises an eyebrow and tilts his head at her when she rejoins him at the door. "You are an enigma, Miss Davies."

Elena gives him a wide smile and walks out the door, Snape following quickly behind her. "Thank you."

"That was not a compliment."

She laughs. "Kind of figured, Professor."

Disapparating from Diagon Alley to her front porch, Elena once again lands on all fours. Snape is, thankfully, holding her school things because he figured she would collapse again after arriving. Snow hoots quietly in displeasure.

"Yup, I think I'm gonna be sick," Elena mumbles as she starts to retch off the side of the porch.

Snape lays the items down and crouches down beside Elena, gently pulling her hair out of her face so that she doesn't get vomit in it.

Wiping her mouth with a handkerchief Snape hands her, Elena says, "I thought I told you I never wanted to do that again?"

He shrugs. "It was the fastest way back to your home."

She sits on her heels to glare at him. "It still wasn't very nice. You could've warned me at the very least."

Later that evening, the three sisters all meet in Elena's room. Riley and Joanna sit down on the bed on either side of Elena.

"So, you're a…." Riley starts but trails off, unsure of what to call her sister.

Elena smiles easily. "You can call me a witch, Riles. It's not an offensive term in my new world."

Joanna frowns. "Are you sure you want to go to this school?"

Both sisters eye her curiously.

Elena nods. "I'm sure. Are you okay with that?"

Riley and Joanna both nod.

"If this is what you truly want, we will support you," Joanna says.

"We're here for you, Ellie Wellie." Riley then nudges Elena's shoulder playfully. "You are going to be the greatest witch to ever live!"

Elena chuckles sheepishly.

A/N Thank you so much for reading my (somewhat appealing and hopefully not too grammatically incorrect) story! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave a comment! Until next time, lovelies!