Disclaimer: Some characters in this story are not mine, they belong to J.K. Rowling from the Harry Potter series. Some characters are mine and they're purely made from my imagination. If you're an HP fan, you would know who is/is-not from the original novel.

Author's Note: I'm doing this just for fun. Severus Snape is my favorite character in the HP universe. In this story, he'll be paired with a non-HP character. I chose not to go with HG/SS fanfic as of this moment. Pairing him with an AU character just gives me so much freedom.

~o~

Chapter 1: Informal Introductions

It was a normal day at the museum with the sun blazing outside at eleven in the morning during the mid of July 1985. Thank heavens for the cool breeze that the air conditioning brought about the room. Sofie had been studying the relic under the incandescent light, making sure it is far enough as per the museum's guideline. The relic, which was a gold coin, seemed to be from 800AD Anglo-Saxon if Sofie wasn't mistaken. The museum had acquired the item from an anonymous donor. Rumor had it that the donor died and made the donation in his last will. Knowing that the donor made it anonymous had let Sofie think to not ask more questions about him as she respected his wishes to be unknown.

This coin wasn't the only item from the donation though. Ben, his coworker, had mentioned around thirteen relics belonging to various periods of British history were in the donated collections, with the coin being one of them. Sofie would need to find another time to check on the others. This was the first item handed to her and she went on with her normal job. After another fifteen minutes of analyzing the markings and symbols, she returned the coin from her gloved hands into the sealed box. She turned off the light and walked to the room with a sign "New Arrival" which is the place where they usually store newly acquired items. But not all things there were newly acquired, their tenures ranging from six months to even a year. The museum curator had yet provided the plan on where to place the items and if they're worth exhibiting to the public.

Sofie went back to her desk which was organized enough. At the center of it was an Apple Macintosh, a very useful device for storing her files and making reports. The fascinating state of the art device came with a mouse and keyboard which made the computer experience user-friendly. Sometimes, Sofie could just get lost in reading and writing on the computer and not notice the time passing.

She looked around the room. It was nearly lunch time, and she was the only person in it. Benjamin Hughes, who had his desk a few meters from her right, must be out in a smoking break. His desk was cluttered with several documents. The disorganized scene always made Sofie cringe. She would sometimes have the urge of waving her hand and Ben's desk would automatically arrange itself. It was common knowledge in the office that Ben fancied her, but Sofie always had a good timing on avoiding his little antics.

Sofie looked at the desk in front of her. It belonged to her best friend Laura Ackley. Like Sofie, she was also well organized but more of a neat freak than her. Laura joined the museum's Archives Team a year earlier than Sofie. Sofie just joined three months ago, but the short time span of three months didn't stop her from liking Laura until she discovered herself mentally considering Laura as her best friend. She and Laura had a lot of things in common. Both were a major in History but studied in different universities, Sofie graduated from Cambridge University while Laura from Oxford University. These are academic places that were prestigious enough one might think they will end up in iconic museums like the National History Museum or the Louvre. It was never Sofie's dream of landing a job in big institutions, she was contented with the job she had right now and Laura too. They had this shared love of history, be it English or another country's. Laura's chair was empty today as she was in a business trip in Canterbury.

Their boss, David Locksley, a gruffy ex-professor from Cambridge would sometimes send them to expeditions checking out the sources of the artifacts and talking to people who had the items in possession so they can get more data regarding the things in their museum. Being new to the team, she hasn't been given this kind of task yet.

To be honest, Sofie liked Professor Locksley since the beginning. He was the one who interviewed her and gave hard specific questions. Luckily, Sofie was studious enough when she was still a student and even graduated as Magna Cum Laude in her batch. Even though she answered Locksley in the best possible way she could, Locksley could always make a hole from her statements and made her look unfamiliar with the subject. Leaving the interview quite forlorn, Sofie was considering applying for other jobs in a local library or some other small museums. But to her surprise, the telephone rang the next day. It was someone from the HR department telling her that they're interested in taking her in and asking her for the expected salary. As she had just graduated from university and didn't do much research on salaries in her field, she gave a modest amount. The museum came back to her later that day with a higher salary than what she was asking, to her great liking, although she would have been happy enough if they hadn't done so. Money wasn't much of a concern for her since she didn't dream of having a big house or a nice luxury car that other people of her age wanted. Sofie always strived for simplicity. She feels more comfortable and more at home to old and eccentric things. There was just this nice feeling about them.

As Sofie was getting ready to get out of the room, she saw Locksley exiting his private office and striding purposely towards her with a folder in hand. She was sure he was going to give her an errand and she wanted to run out of the room. But of course, it wouldn't look professional and didn't want to get on the bad side of him. Instead, she waited for him to reach her, and he pushed the folder towards her in a fashionable manner.

"Miss Griffith," he started, looking at her sternly through his thick glasses. "After your lunch, please look at these files. The item mentioned there is of great interest I think and possibly rare. I wouldn't normally assign this to a new employee, but I want to make an exception for you. You have been doing a good job since you joined the team."

Sofie's cheeks turned a little pink from the praise but didn't let it get to her head. "Sure, Professor." Everybody called him Professor which was a force of habit from his previous job. "I'll make sure to take a look at them."

"Good. And oh, you might notice a train ticket there. I booked a trip for you to Chedworth tomorrow, that is where the artifact is now," he said nonchalantly. Sofie was taken aback from this sudden piece of information. He disregarded her look of surprise. "I admit that this is not normal procedure, but there is this bloke who made a call and wanted us to look at it and see if we're interested. If you can get more details about this item and make sure it's indeed genuine, I will call up our curator to check it further. But, if you're not up to the task, I can wait for Ben."

Seemed like a big task but Sofie is up to the challenge. Her heart was beating faster knowing that she will be in an adventure, no matter how small it is. She shook her head and said, "No, Professor. It's fine, I'll do it. And I think Ben is a bit preoccupied with the Celtic relic since last week."

"Great. If you need anything, you know where to call." Without further ado, he turned on his heel and went back to his office.

Sofie looked down on the folder in her hand. She opened it and her eyes widened in bewilderment as she saw the polaroid stapled at the front page. In her four years of studying history, she never encountered this kind of object before.

~o~

Sofie woke up early in order not to be late from the train. Of all the time slots that Locksley could have booked and he had to pick the 6 a.m. That would mean she needed to take off from her flat around 5 a.m., take a cab to Paddington station which would take around thirty minutes. From Paddington Station to Kemble Station was around a couple of hours and from Kemble Station, she needed to take a cab to Chedworth. If all went well, she could get to the location around 9 a.m. and the appointment with that "bloke" was at 10 a.m. so she had sufficient buffer in case there's traffic. Sofie read the contents of the folder that Locksley gave her, and the supposed bloke had a name, and it was Oliver Ridley. There was an attached address and phone number of Mr. Ridley. Not much information about Mr. Ridley was mentioned in the file so Sofie didn't have any idea whether he was young, in his mid, or an old gentleman. She should have asked for more details from Locksley.

She grabbed everything she needed for the trip: bottle of water, a small book for light reading, shades, scarf, and sunscreen. Sofie stuffed all those things in her shoulder bag along with the file. As she went out of her room, she gave a quick glance at the adjacent empty room. The room had been empty for four years and Sofie still couldn't get herself to go inside the room. She felt guilty that she couldn't even keep that room clean and free from dust. Sofie knew that she will break like a flower vase dropping on a hard floor if she would see anything that reminded her of her mother. After her mother Agatha died, she pushed herself to be preoccupied with her job applications. Knowing her mother, she wouldn't have wanted Sofie to wallow in grief and self-pity. Agatha taught her the value of bravery and determination ever since she was a young child.

It wasn't like Sofie didn't grieve for the death of her mother, but she refused to drown herself in the depths of despair and loneliness. She had learned to control her emotions because of some trauma when she was little. Childhood memories were always hazy and Sofie always found her head end up hurting every time she wanted to remember. All she could remember was that bad things happen around her every time she felt extreme emotions especially when angry. Although, they were very likely coincidental circumstances only. But nevertheless, she treated bad emotions as bad omens. And as her mother Agatha had always told her, not having control of one's emotions would have a negative impact on herself and others. She taught herself that avoidance is the treatment, like keeping herself busy and not thinking much about the thing that's bothering her. Although she had kept herself busy with work and with friends, there was still a big void in her heart that couldn't be filled.

Sofie continued walking down the stairs and made sure the main circuit was turned off. She always did this when she knew she wasn't coming back for a long time. Before closing the door, she stared at the picture near the television. It was of her and her mother, smiling happily at the camera while the summer wind was blowing their hair. Sofie had brown hair while her mother was black. "I'll be back," she said softly and then closed the door.

The cab ride to Paddington Station was uneventful. This might be the first time that she rode a cab this early in the morning for all she could remember. They reached the station around twenty minutes later and Sofie gave the cab driver a few more pounds than the meter. The guy gave a toothy smile and wished her well on her trip. She walked the pavement into the train station, showed the guard her ticket and he pointed her the directions to the train. Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of people taking the first train, she estimated around fifty people only. As soon as the car attendant indicated the public that they can go in, Sofie didn't wait further and entered Coach 12 and headed to Compartment 3. She smiled inwardly as she realizes she was the only passenger in that compartment, she can still catch some sleep to complete her average daily sleeping hour.

As soon as her wristwatch said 6 a.m., the train started to slowly move and catch speed. Sofie looked out the window while the train whizzed past the small pillars and benches. A strange creature caught her eye, a silver tabby cat with markings around her eyes, was staring at her as the train kept running until the train rounded a corner and it can be seen no more. Weird is the word. Sofie shrugged it off and leaned near the window to try to sleep. But before she could get the good shut eye that she wanted, she saw a man standing outside the compartment door looking at his ticket. When he confirmed he was at the correct compartment, the door slid open.

The man entered the compartment without any acknowledgments toward her. His eyes were fixed on the bench opposite to her, but he sat near the door and as far away from Sofie. He was carrying an old brown knapsack and put it carefully beside him. As soon as he sat, he crossed his arms on front of him and closed his eyes. Looked like he needed to catch up with some sleep too. He looked tired and spent at this early in the morning already.

Noticing that he was determined to get some sleep, Sofie studied this mysterious stranger for a ,moment. He had a lanky shoulder-length hair, sallow skin, and hooked nose. His frame was thin but showed some signs of muscles on his arm and chest. He looked somewhat handsome but due to his mysterious aura, Sofie found it hard to place him. Something was odd about him too. He was wearing a black coat with a fitting cut until just above the knees with long white sleeves undershirt, black pants, and black shoes. If it wasn't for the colorful design of the seat and walls, one might have thought of him as a guy from a black and white movie. He looked exhausted and the dark circles under his eyes were obvious. After she felt it was enough evaluation of the stranger opposite her, she decided to get a nap of her own.

~o~

"Sofie…" There was a soft voice from a distance. Sofie's body tingled with warmth from the sound of it. She could feel soft sheets on her face, and she realized she was sprawled on a checkered blanket over what seemed to be soft ground. "My dear, we need to go." The voice seemed like an echo, not from this world. Sofie slowly opened her eyes, and she could see a silhouette hovering over her. She rubbed her eyes to clear her vision but to no avail.

Behind the silhouette was like crowns of trees and the sun was shining through the tiny leaves. Another silhouette came into view. "Sweetheart, wake up. The … will wear off anytime soon. We need to catch it or else we'll be going back by bus. We know you hate the bus. It's hot and slow." What will wear off? thought Sofie.

She grunted. It was so comfortable like this. Can't they stay a little longer?

The blurry scene slowly faded and next thing she knew, she was on a small bed. The sheets were crispy like newly washed. Because the door was slightly open, golden ray streaked the otherwise dark room. Sofie could hear hushed voices from outside. Curiosity got to her and she climbed out of her bed. Her soft bare feet treaded the cold wooden floor slowly until she was behind the door. She leaned her head more so she can hear what they were whispering.

A woman was sobbing with the occasional sniffles. "I… I can't believe we're doing this to her. There must be a b-better way."

And then a deeper voice belonging to a man spoke, "I know this is the hardest thing we'll ever do. But for the sake of our daughter's safety, it must be done. I have talked to … about it." Talked to who? Sofie inched the side of her head nearer the crack at the door. She couldn't catch some of the words. "He agreed to do it and vowed to keep it a secret."

"Of course he agreed! He would agree to any crazy idea that would fly his way! …, please! Find another way!" Who was she and who was she begging to? Sofie could feel the desperation in her voice.

Silence followed. "I'm sorry. I pray she will forgive us." There was heaviness in his voice like he was also about to cry.

Realizing she should be back to bed, she slowly stood up and walked back to her bed, doing her best not to make any sound. Her efforts were in vain though as the bed creaked as soon as she settled her knees. Quickly, she went under the blankets and held her breath.

Seconds later, there were footsteps nearing the room and she heard the door opened wider. Even though she was under the blanket, she felt cold. The footsteps drew nearer and stopped by her side. Sofie felt the blanket being moved and suddenly she felt warm. Her feet were outside the blanket and this person fixed it.

Warm hands caressed her hair. "Goodnight, my dear Sofie. Always remember we love you. We'll always be here with you." Then she felt soft and wet lips on her forehead. "I love you," she whispered. Sofie sighed softly and smiled.

~o~

Sofie jolted from her slumber. The dream was so vivid and real which gave her a bizarre feeling. She noticed she was dreaming more of the similar scenes lately. Unknown people, unvisited places, old houses… It must be from the constant loneliness that she was feeling and her museum work with old relics.

She shook her head and lazily looked out the window. She could see the countryside now, very different from London. The train was slowing down. This must be her stop. She checked her wristwatch and it was ten minutes past eight confirming her assumption. She looked the other way and her eyes locked with deep black ones. Sofie didn't notice the stranger was also awake. He was looking at her like he was studying her through narrow formidable black eyes. Sofie gave a soft smile and then he looked away. Not so friendly, eh? He suddenly stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulders and opened the compartment. As he did so, Sofie noticed a slender stick with what seemed like a handle poking out of his right pocket. He walked out of the room and proceeded to the exit door to wait for the train to stop.

It wasn't everyday that Sofie would see somebody carrying around a stick. It looked like a prop from a magician's show. He must be a magician by occupation. Or maybe he was going to surprise his niece or nephew with a magic trick. He doesn't look like he would have a child of his own. Who knows?

She shrugged the thoughts of him and five minutes later she forgot about the dark man and his odd aura. The train came to a full stop and Sofie went out. The sun was nice to her skin at this time of the day but would later be burning a couple of hours later, so she hoped she could arrive to Mr. Ridley's house soon. Kemble Station wasn't huge like Paddington and the people were scarce. There were only about ten people who left the train with her. After she went out of the station, she hailed a cab and showed the driver the address. He looked at it for a long time and grunted, indicating that he knew the place.

A few seconds later, he started the car and drove off. "I have been driving for almost thirty years and I have only taken a passenger there once. Really curious…" Sofie wasn't really a chatty person, so she just nodded and kept silent. The driver took a quick look at her. "Do you want me to wait for you once we arrive there? There aren't many cabs passing that area."

"Uhm… thanks, but I'll be fine. I'm not sure how long I'll be there and I wouldn't want to keep you for long."

"Tell you what, I'll wait for you and you can just add twenty pounds from the meter," he insisted.

Twenty pounds? This is clear daylight robbery. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm on a budget." She made her voice firm. If anything, she could just walk back until she saw a cab. The cab driver only grunted and kept quiet for the rest of the trip.

Around twenty minutes later, the cab started to slow down and Sofie checked to see why. The flat road ended and was being replaced by broken stone pavements. She looked outside the windows and she couldn't see any houses nearby. Before this area, they passed by old stone houses that were obviously well maintained. They even had nice gardens.

The road then narrowed and was getting more and more bumpy. The surroundings got darker since the road was sheltered by unkept trees on either side. The hairs at the back of her neck stood up. This was one of her what-have-you-gotten-into moments. The scene was eerie and the now grumpy cab driver is not helping her ease the tension she was starting to feel at all. He was muttering under his breath, probably due to the condition of the road and how it will do to his car. Sofie couldn't blame him at all.

Her body was stiff and she wasn't breathing normally. She was mentally taking note to keep the appointment short and to get out of there as soon as she could. Finally, the surrounding got brighter as the row of trees ended. From a distance, Sofie could see a lone dilapidating house. The grasses around the house were dead and there were occasional weeds. She swallowed hard. This didn't make her feel better at all.

The cab stopped in front of a rusted gate. It was also the end of the road. There was no left or right from there. True enough, the address was written at the post near the gate. "That will be thirty pounds," the driver said, twisting his body to look at her.

This guy is really robbing me. Sofie didn't want to argue further and just fumbled in her wallet to get the money. She handed him the cash and stepped out of the car. Sofie waited until the car would drive off, but before that, the driver rolled down the window on the passenger's side and asked for the last time, "Miss, are you sure you don't want me to wait?"

Sofie was now considering it. But her hard headedness took a better hold of her. "Thank you, but I'll be fine. Goodbye."

"Alright, then. Take care yourself." The cab drove off leaving dust behind its tail. It would be a good fifteen-minute walk to reach the flat road, and she dreaded that rocky and shady road.

Sofie turned to the gate. It was as twice as tall as her and there were chains on the main bar. She guessed she needed to show herself in. She searched for a way and luckily enough, there was a small passage for people to walk in was unlocked. A few meters of walk and she reached the front door. It was black and, like the rest of the house, looked like it would break by the mere summer wind. The knocker was that of a skull. Everything about this place wasn't any good at all.

Knock, knock, knock… No answer. She knocked five times more but there wasn't a single sign of movement inside that house indicating that somebody would answer the door. With a deep sigh, she bellowed, "Hello? Mr. Ridley? This is Sofie Griffith from the Museum of Ancient Arts and Locksley sent me on his behalf. I have an appointment with you regarding an artefact?"

Still, no answer. Sofie stared at the rusted door handle and thought of opening the door herself, to see if it was locked. But that would be unprofessional, isn't it? Maybe I could take a little peek. If there really isn't anybody, I'll just go back to London and tell Locksley that Ridley was a no-show. Like an amateur burglar, she crept slowly by the wall and went to the nearest window. She only needed to tiptoe so she could get some view of the inside of a living room. It wasn't that clear of a view since the glass panes were dusty and the house seemed like it wasn't maintained for a very long time. Sofie could see two old plump chairs, between them was a desk with a lamp on top, some old pictures on the walls. Everything was covered in inch-deep dust. She was starting to think that the call about a found artefact was a bogus one. If it was, it wasn't an isolated one.

Sofie was about to walk back but something caught her eye. It was a pair of boots that fell on their sides, she was about to ask herself where the owner was but gasped as soon as she realized. The boots were still attached to a pair of legs, the body hidden from view by a dividing wall. Mr. Ridley must have passed out, that's why he couldn't get to the door.

In a rush of adrenaline, Sofie leapt towards the front door and turned the knob open. The door was heavy and creaked. "Mr. Ridley?" The air inside the house was putrid and she put a hand over her mouth and nose. She tried hard not to vomit. She had never seen death before, but she assumed death would smell like this. Her eyes went quickly to the body lying on the wooden floor and ran towards it. Her heart galloped in her chest as to the scene laid in front of her.

The body was that of an old man, a big slash ran across his chest and abdomen revealing a few rib bones and guts. As she couldn't hold it any longer, she vomited whatever she had partaken this morning. Sofie felt like fainting and she walked back as far away from the body as she could until she hit a wall. There was a pool of blood around the dead man's body. Whoever did this to him, it wasn't a long time ago. The blood was still fresh. She wanted to scream but it seemed something was blocking her throat. This must be a nightmare from which she needed to wake up.

There was a scurry of what sounded like footsteps from the floor above. One… two… two persons at least. Soon enough, two weirdly clothed men appeared on the small staircase and running as fast as they could. Their builds were bulky and she knew she couldn't fight them off even if she wanted to. The first man had long messy black hair holding a slender stick, now a familiar sight to Sofie. Another man had a patch on his left eye and was holding a small pouch. They stopped on their tracks as soon as they saw her.

Another rush of adrenaline, Sofie rushed to the door. She needed to get out of her as soon as possible. This was a life and death moment. But before she could grab the door, it swung open revealing a silhouette. "Petrificus totalus!" Her body became rigid from head to toe and her body fell on the floor in a painful thud. She wanted to scream for help but her throat failed her.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the traitorous filth," said one of the two men from inside the house. "Funny to see you here, Snape."

Sofie fell on her side facing the newly arrived man. It's him! The man in her compartment. His face looked furious but calm at the same time. "Avery. Mulciber." His voice was of deep silk and there was a hint of blade sharpness cutting through the putrid air. "What a surprise. I thought you'd be locked up in Azkaban, enjoying the company of Dementors."

Someone behind her croaked through a laugh. "How grand of you to say that Snape. We fought side by side for the Dark Lord and did all the deeds together. I knew you didn't have it in you. Suspected you from the start."

"Say what you want, Mulciber. The Dark Lord is dead and he's not coming back to save your ugly pathetic lives. Sectumsepra!" And with that, a violet light shot out of his stick aiming at one of the persons behind her. Snape, as he was called, jumped over her and started to "fight" with the other two men. She couldn't see anything from where she was on the floor. Trying all her might to move even an inch but she couldn't. Sofie closed her eyes and just wished this could be all over. This must be a dream. Wake up, Sofie. Please!

Sounds louder than gunshots can be heard inside the house. Footsteps running here and there, furniture, glasses and walls breaking. They were shouting to each other words that are in some of language she couldn't understand. What the hell is happening? That stick just shot something out of its end like a firecracker they used to light on New Year's.

More broken things and some screams later, the house became silent. She could hear light footsteps approaching her and she felt her body being turned so she could see the ceiling. Snape was kneeling over her. His hair almost covering his face at this angle. "Where is your loyalty, girl? Who do you fight for?" His voice was dangerous. He directed the stick on her throat. Sofie closed her eyes, This is it. The death of me. He whispered something she couldn't comprehend, then her throat suddenly loosened up. "I'm asking you again, who do you fight for?"

"I d-don't know what you're t-talking about," she stammered, still finding her voice. Tears rolled down her eyes. "Please let me go. I won't tell anyone about this."

"Stop all pretense now. I saw you in the train today and I sensed something in you. You're hiding something, aren't you? Look at me." Her grey eyes locked with black ones. "Legilimens!"

~o~

Author's Note: That's it for the first chapter! I'm making the plots as I go. Hope you like it! Please leave a review. I would like to hear your opinion about my story and how I can improve. See ya!