Petal in the Rain

Chapter 19 – Learning Curve

It's not what you thought when you first began it,
and it's not going to stop…it's not going to stop
'till you wise up.

-Aimee Mann

"Alright, I get the point, Frank!" Lily pronounced in tired exasperation, stepping through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor common room with a hot and bothered lord on her tail; the Fat Lady watched them with interest. "I've apologized about twenty times already—"

"Well you can apologize twenty more times, but it won't make a difference," Frank exclaimed indignantly, following her in and dumping the parcels he held under his arms onto a nearby table. "How can I get you to understand that your very life is at stake here?"

Imagine how mad he'd be if he found out I was in the Hog's Head and nearly abducted by a vampire...

"You really think because I chose to browse in other shops instead of wait for you that I somehow endangered my life?" Lily demanded, turning to face him with an offended look upon her face. "Why is it everyone thinks I'm absolutely incapable of taking care of myself? Contrary to popular belief, I am not some daft little girl!"

Frank narrowed his eyes, her choice of prose piquing his interest. "Define everyone."

"See! You don't even deny it!" Lily hollered in prideful outrage, kicking off her high-heeled shoes and storming toward the girls' dormitories. "I will have you know, Frank Longbottom, that I am not incompetent and I do not appreciate you treating me like a child."

"That's Lord Frank Longbottom, if you please," Frank arrogantly called after her, folding his arms in reaction to Lily's unladylike temperament.

Her eyes flashed with ire as she thrust one of her heels at Frank. Caught off guard, the shoe hit him square in the chest, causing him to cough as Lily continued up the girl's staircase, antagonized, "Well you can bugger off, Lord Longbottom!"

Frank frowned and unwittingly began to follow her up the staircase; however, as soon as his foot touched the first step, it transformed into a steep slide, causing him to fall to his knees.

"Bloody stairs," Frank muttered as Lily continued to ascend, her displeasure driving her further away from him. He climbed back into an upright position and brushed the dirt from his suit jacket. "Would you please wait a moment?"

Lily halted at the top of the staircase and looked down at him, her glare icy. "Why should I? So you can berate me some more? Tell me how thick I am? I endured enough of that in the coach ride back, I think."

Frank sighed, pulling at the collar of his white dress shirt. He looked up at her wearily. "I don't think you're thick."

"Well your actions suggest otherwise," Lily retorted, ripping the hat she wore off of her head, causing her perfectly-formed curls to become disheveled.

"I admit I overreacted before…but you must understand how worried I was. You'd been missing for almost an hour; I immediately imagined the worst case scenario and thought you'd been captured by the dark wizards who are searching for you," Frank whispered desperately, his tone grave. "Dumbledore put you in my care…he wanted me to help you become accustomed to the wizarding world…and I'd misplaced you two hours into our first outing. How could I not panic?"

Lily read the sincerity in Frank's face, his explanation making her understand that his anger was derived from the fear he had felt due to her disappearance. Suddenly feeling contrite for being so difficult, she walked back down the staircase and met him at the bottom. "I'm sorry, Frank. I didn't mean to make you worry. I ran into this horrible woman, Narcissa Black, and she was asking me questions I didn't know the answers to. I thought it best to escape her before I jeopardized my disguise. This whole process has made me a little crazy…I'm sorry I threw the—"

"You met Narcissa Black in the clothing shop?" Frank cut in, his handsome face paling. "Was Lucius Malfoy with her?"

Noticing Frank's change of mood, Lily suddenly became anxious. "No, she was alone...but I did hear her make mention of a 'Malfoy' when she was speaking with Madam Gladrags. Who is he?"

Frank visibly relaxed, though he still spoke with urgency. "Lucius is courting Narcissa. Both of them belong to very powerful wizarding families that carry a great deal of influence in high society. Should you ever encounter them again—and I'm positive you will—you must be extra careful to keep up your disguise. I don't know if I should tell you this, but many of us suspect Lucius Malfoy of being a follower of You-Know-Who."

"You-Know-Who?" Lily echoed in confusion, wondering who Frank could possibly be referring to.

Frank cocked an eyebrow. "You know...the dark wizard who's after you? The whole reason you're currently in hiding?"

"You mean Voldemort?" Lily inquired blatantly. Frank flinched as she spoke his name, making her feel even more befuddled. "Why did you just cringe?"

"We don't say that name," Frank whispered irritably, appearing slightly embarrassed as he straightened up again. "You aren't supposed to say that name out loud...you'll scare people and bring unwanted attention to yourself."

"Why don't people say 'Voldemort'? You don't seriously expect me to believe wizards...you...fear a name?" Lily practically laughed, causing Frank to flush shamefully—something she hadn't seen before.

"No, not fear...I suppose it's just out of...well...respect, or—"

"You have respect for a killer?" Lily demanded in indignation, her face showing her repugnance.

"No, of course not! I don't know how to better explain it...just don't say the name, alright?" Frank demanded haughtily, losing some of his lordly composure.

"Dumbledore says 'Vold—"

"Would you stop arguing with me?" Frank shouted, causing Lily to begin to giggle, making him even crosser. "What exactly is so funny?"

She continued to chuckle, her eyes sparkling as she regarded the usually ruffled lord. "I think that vein on your forehead is going to burst soon."

Her teasing seemed to cause Frank to gradually deflate. "You are an insufferable woman. I think, even if I survive the war, I'll have been driven mad by you. I should call ahead and have St. Mungo's save a bed for me."

Survive the war…?

Lily's eyes misted over as the handsome wizard laughed at his own joke, his remark about the war hitting a sensitive nerve, "You better go get changed and ready for your lessons. I believe your tutor will be expecting—"

"Quite right," Lily cut in, trying to gulp back the reactionary tears that suddenly threatened to spill from her eyes. Without so much as a nod, she turned away from Frank and bounded toward the dormitories, her long curls bouncing behind her as she took on two stairs at a time.

"Er…goodbye then?" Frank weakly called after her, his brow furrowing as the tenacious girl disappeared. He looked to the old man in the oil painting on the wall beside him, his questioning expression revealing his utter confusion.

"Women are very unpredictable, my boy," the portrait said unhelpfully, stroking his beard with a look of sympathy.

"This one more than others, I think," Franked lamented, flummoxed.

Lily entered her dormitory and immediately shut the door behind her, praying Frank wouldn't follow her up and impatiently demand to know why she was distressed.

That's one story I'll never tell.

She leaned up against the door for a moment, taking deep breathes and willing herself not to think of the messy-haired boy that had left her emotionally devastated. Trying to push the memories of him to the back of her mind in order to focus on successfully blending into a foreign world was proving exceedingly difficult.

I've just got to keep going. I need to forget for my own good...for my own survival.

Lily pulled off her sticky clothing and stockings, plunking down on her bed to massage the bottoms of her aching feet. She laid down once she was done fidgeting, closing her eyes and praying for reprieve from the pain that was pressing against her chest.

When is it going to stop? When will I stop thinking about him?

Lily let out an aggravated whimper and balled her hands into fists, gathering them at her temples as she willed herself not to beat the remembrances from her head. She couldn't begin to explain how she was feeling; polarized emotions held her captive in a place where she could not find solace in hollowness or wholeness, sadness or happiness.

I'm scared...yet I've never felt so safe. I'm trapped...yet I have more freedom than I ever have. I'm lonely...yet I've never had so many people surround me. I'm disguised...yet I've never felt more like myself...

Lily felt maddened by the conflicting feelings, helpless to how lost she was within them. She was stuck between two worlds of thought; she could neither dwell on the past and properly mourn James, nor live in the future and commit whole-heartedly to happiness in the magical world.

Lily's depressed spirit was eventually interrupted by a persistent tapping sound on the window above her nightstand. She groaned and attempted to asphyxiate herself with a pillow to drown out the annoying noise, but eventually got up to explore its source.

Perched on the outside sill—its feathers the colour of night and its beady eyes yellow as corn—was a large, anxious raven. Lily observed the bird in tired interest, taking in its majestic frame, then—without thinking twice—pried open the window to allow it entry into the dormitory. She stood back as it swooped into her room and landed on the frame of her bed, shaking out its feathers as it disembarked. For the first time she remained calm in the presence of a magical, letter-wielding bird—the very opposite of wild and untamed.

Only my second day and I'm already desensitized…

"Do you have a letter for me?" she inquired of the gigantic fowl, causing the raven to suspiciously inspect her out of one of its golden eyes. Once it appeared satisfied, the animal stuck out its leg and presented her with a small scribbled note.

Lily untied the letter from the raven's leg and re-opened the window to free it again, letting in cool air which drifted from the cloudbank surrounding the high tower. She shivered as the air crept along her arms and belly and hurried back into bed, covering her half-naked body with thick satin sheets and opening the letter:

We will be working on two subjects today: Charms and History of Magic. Make sure to bring your wand, a quill and parchment, and both Year One textbooks. Have a house-elf show you to the library for 2 o'clock.

Don't be late.

Though the note was unsigned, Lily felt certain it was from Professor Severus Snape, the blatant brevity of the last line enough evidence of that.

Charms and History of Magic...

Lily's stomach began to twist into uneasy knots. Ever since meeting Severus Snape, whose loathing of her was apparent, she had dreaded her first lesson, feeling sure she would humiliate herself and provide him with more ammunition to mock her with. Strangely, she desired to impress the moody wizard—an aspiration she had never held for any of the teachers at St. Madeline's—and felt the need to prove her worth to him.

I've gone from being the cleverest girl in school to the girl that knows absolutely nothing...

Lily hoisted herself up and gloomily opened her trunk, extracting the first dress she came across. She quickly pulled an olive-coloured frock with a square neckline over her head and fixed her hair into a messy ponytail, secretly grateful Gladrags' shipment of clothing—which would provide her with more choice and therefore prolong the costuming process—had not yet arrived.

After recovering the pair of shoes she had worn to Hogsmeade, Lily returned to her trunk and extracted the beautiful wand Ollivander had lovingly fashioned from the hair of a unicorn, taking a moment to admire the exquisite designs on the handle.

Made from the hair of a unicorn…I wonder if I'll ever get to see a unicorn...

Lily jolted out of her fairy-tale trance when a resounding crack sounded behind her, where Mimi—the tiny, misshapen house-elf she had befriended early on—appeared balancing a stack of books three times her own height.

"Mimi...has...brought...Miss...Aurora's...textbooks!" the house-elf struggled to say as she staggered back and forth, trying to keep the pile from tumbling over.

"Let me help you with those!" Lily exclaimed worriedly, grabbing books out of the house-elf's hands and heaping them onto her bed. "Where did you get all these books from?"

"Lord Longbottom purchased all of Miss Aurora's school supplies and textbooks while Miss Aurora was with the clothier! Lord Longbottom had Mimi bring all of Miss Aurora's things back to Hogwarts," Mimi explained excitably, seemingly ecstatic to be helping Lily and Frank. "Now Mimi will summon for the rest of Miss Aurora's things!"

Before Lily could interject, Mimi snapped her spidery fingers and the dormitory became a flurry of action. Multiple books and items suddenly formed from thin air and zoomed from one end of the room to the other, fitting into the space's crevices like pieces of a puzzle. Lily gasped as books with strange titles began arranging themselves in empty shelves and pewter cauldrons of various sizes banged against one another as they struggled to neatly line her desk.

Once the activity ceased, Lily began to inspect all of her new instruments and hardbacks, temporary excitement distracting her from her sorrows and nerves.

"Can you help me figure out where the first year textbooks for Charms and History of Magic are?" Lily called offhandedly to Mimi as she began to run her index finger over volume titles organized in her shelves.

"Mimi has already found your Charms textbooks!" the house-elf squeaked gleefully, The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1 in one of her small hands and Magical Theory in the other.

"Ah ha, I've just found A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot as well," Lily announced triumphantly, brandishing the thickest book she had ever set her eyes upon before. "Now all I need is a quill and parchment and I'm ready for my lessons."

After everything Snape required her to bring was collected, Mimi packed Lily's supplies and books into a large leather bag and grudgingly helped Lily slip the heavy sack over her shoulder. "How long will it take us to get to the library? My back may be broken before then."

"The library is on the fourth floor, Miss Aurora. Don't worry, Mimi will show Miss Aurora a short-cut!" she peeped ardently, exiting the girls' dormitory with a suddenly tense Lily in tow.

Here goes nothing…

Despite her overwhelming apprehension, Lily was relieved to be distracted from heartbreaking thoughts of James Potter and his possible wartime fate.

Severus Snape sat quietly in the library, his posture crooked as he slumped over his Advanced Potions textbook, reading through the tedious instructions to one of his favourite elixirs. Though he knew the inscription by heart, he struggled to comprehend the first paragraph, his thoughts drifting to Lady Aurora Rockford—niece of the great Lord Dumbledore, one of the most celebrated wizards in modern history.

Lady Rockford was a conundrum. Never before had Snape heard of Aurora Rockford; a lady whom—had she been part of the social scene—surely would not have gone unnoticed. Though he was no expert on high society, being but a common wizard himself, Snape had attended Hogwarts with many of society's most prominent and wealthy noblemen and women—all of whom, to his utter annoyance at the time, had gossiped incessantly during their schooldays. It was curious to think that the niece of one of society's most beloved wizards had mysteriously flown under the radar.

By the looks of her, Aurora Rockford was not much younger than he was. Snape surmised she likely would've been in her third or fourth year when he was in his seventh—a calculation which inferred she was currently seventeen or eighteen—but he had never seen her at Hogwarts before. Why did she not attend the very institution her uncle headmastered? And why had no one ever spoken of her before?

Even more strange, what was she doing unaccompanied in a dive like the Hogshead? Snape couldn't fathom even one noble witch he'd attended Hogwarts with stepping anywhere near such a bar, never mind possessing so little common sense as to enter it alone out of thirst. Did she not care about her reputation and duties, or was she genuinely unaware of who she was and how to carry out her role as an aristocratic lady?

And now I'm stuck spending my summer teaching this bizarre witch…

Snape looked back down at his book, determined to absorb the words of the first paragraph and get the girl off of his mind; however, without even realizing it, he had inked 'Lady Aurora' in the margin of his Potions text. He silently cursed himself, realizing he hadn't been using his erasable ink. Taking out his wand to clear the page, he recoiled when a voice above him sounded, instinctively slamming the book shut.

By the time Lily finally managed to reach the Hogwarts library with her load of books, she felt like an overworked greyhound. She panted tiredly and clung to the library door frame to catch her breath, resentful of how many steps the grand staircase had. Once recovered, Lily halfheartedly waved goodbye to Mimi, whose eyes shone with reverence as she watched her go, and focused her gaze on the surprising room before her.

Oh…my…word…

Lily's eyes widened in stupefaction as she began to register the aesthetic of the library, for the room was mammoth in size, being even larger than the Great Hall. Looking more like the inside of an old Gothic cathedral, the library possessed tall ceilings, stain-glass windows, gargoyle-like sculptures, portraits and antique furniture. Rows of aged books—which were housed in dusty mahogany shelves ten-times taller than herself—seemed to extend back for miles, and gave the literary sanctum a warm, mysterious feel. Lily surmised there were easily more than a hundred-thousand books encased in the castle's hub…

Lurching out of her bewilderment when she nearly tripped on the edge of a carpet, Lily spotted Snape reading at a table near the beginning of the stacks, his nose buried beneath the pages of a thick jade book. He appeared to be lost in thought, his eyes glazed over as he absentmindedly doodled in the margins of the textbook he possessed.

As Lily entered the deathly-silent library to join him—her bag of heavy books awkwardly weighing her down—she noticed a gold-plated message sitting at an empty check-out desk:

If you rip, tear, shred, bend, fold, deface, disfigure, smear, smudge, throw, drop, or in any other manner damage, mistreat, or show lack of respect towards these books, the consequences will be as awful as it is within my power to make them.

Irma Pince: Librarian

Imagining the neurotic librarian's warning to be borderline phobic, Lily moved on, making her way toward her distracted tutor, who didn't realize her presence until she loudly dropped her bag at his table.

"What's that you're so interested in?" Lily inquired as she slid into a seat across from him; she bit back a satisfied smirk as he jerked in surprise, ink splotching in his book.

"None of your business," Snape insisted, his black eyes flashing with annoyance as he immediately shut his book and stuffed it into his bag. Lily caught a glimpse of the cover.

"Advanced Potions...sounds like a fascinating topic," Lily teased smartly, a small smile on her face as she stared at the glaring wizard. She envisioned whatever topic the wizard was consumed by was likely a boring one.

"It is a fascinating topic," Snape challenged sharply, though his eyes began to blacken again. "Did you bring everything I asked you to?"

"Yes, everything you asked," Lily reiterated, pulling her books out of her bag and stacking them atop the table precisely. "Which subject will we be beginning with?"

"Charms, then History of Magic after dinner. Later in the week I will introduce Transfiguration, Potions and perhaps Herbology," Snape replied evenly, taking on a scholarly tone as he dug a hand into his bag and pulled out a long list. "Now, to begin—"

"What about Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Lily pressed, her forehead crinkling as she noticed the subject's absence from his speech.

"You aren't still on about that, are you?" Snape inquired incredulously.

"In case you've forgotten, I was almost abducted by a vampire this morning," Lily whispered calmly, though her blue eyes glossed over with passion. "I'm sure you can understand how I'd like to learn how to properly defend myself?"

"As I explained, it is not an appropriate subject for a woman, never mind an titled one," Snape persisted with conviction, snorting at the thought of a society girl learning about dark magic and defensive spells.

"Listen, I don't care about the status quo: I want to learn it," Lily maintained critically, folding her arms and going dangerously quiet.

"Well you should care," Snape pronounced, his tone bordering snarky. "In society, ladies are taken care of by men, and that's just the way it—"

"Oh, would you stop with the patriarchal bullshit?" Lily spat in uncontrollable frustration, angered by Snape's blatant chauvinism—male ideology she had never experienced in an all-girls boarding school, but underlay every book she had ever read.

As the slick-haired wizard blinked in obvious surprise, Lily knew she was doing the exact opposite of what Frank told her to: convincingly present herself as an aristocratic witch to all she came into contact with.

Bugger. I must try to maintain control…

"Please...please can you teach me? This isn't a classroom setting...no one need know about it," Lily breathed more kindly, her eyes communicating her urgency.

I wonder if I bat my eyelashes a bit more he'll let me have my way…

Snape looked positively judicious as he stared at her with his brooding eyes. He did not reply straight away: she could tell he was scrutinizing her, questioning her non-complacency and the reasons behind her petition. She knew she wasn't doing a proper job of appearing upper-class, but—disguise or not—she felt she needed to know how to protect herself. If not from vampires, then from Voldemort himself…

Snape remained quiet for a moment, his facial expression somber as he pondered her plea. "I couldn't possibly teach you Defence until I've assessed your magical abilities. I...will consider your request, but for now you will rest this idea, understand?" Snape replied tentatively, his tone solemn as he regarded the unusual girl. "I won't deviate from your lessons to accommodate another subject if you can't keep up."

"I'll keep up," Lily pledged immediately, though she had no idea if she could deliver on such an assurance. "I will do whatever it takes."

"I'm not making you any promises," Snape murmured, his eyes devoid of any clues concerning his feelings as he sighed and looked away from the girl, tapping his knobby wand on the table and causing one of his books to abruptly fly open. "Now, open Magical Theory to page twenty-five."

Frank sat outside on one of the top steps of the stairs leading to the magnificent front doors of Hogwarts castle, his chin resting in his propped-up hands. He watched the sun gradually lower toward the horizon and twilight creep along the enchanted forest and lake, his thoughts pre-occupied with images of Lily Evans.

Don't even have a bloody chance to think of anyone else, really.

He exhaled deeply, wondering how her first lessons were going. The fact that she had never willingly performed magic before, or that she had never experienced the life of a magical elite, was positively worrisome. He could not conceive how Dumbledore expected her to smoothly transition into magical society: the prospect seemed nearly impossible—never mind dangerous. Didn't thrusting Lily into the pit that was high magical society put her in unimaginable peril? After all, she hadn't even gone a day without encountering an aristocrat suspected of fraternizing with death eaters…

What bothered Frank the most was Dumbledore's plan. How could he possibly trust in Lily's abilities and adaptive skills without even knowing her? Why didn't he just hide her away—become her secret keeper—rather than place her in the cynosure of action? Why did he create a disguise for her that would attract the attentions of all magical aristocrats? Making her the niece of one of the world's most celebrated wizards wasn't exactly subtle.

Born of muggle and magic
both the halflings of dynasties pure
One with the gift of serpent speech
the other, courage and will to endure

The first, older and hungry
will rise with dark power
The second, young and blooming
will vanquish him in time's bleakest hour

Not because of her strength
nor the emerald in her eye
instead because of her royal marriage
and the baby born nigh

Frank sighed. He knew why the old wizard was intent on incorporating Lily into the magical aristocracy: Dumbledore wanted to ensure that the prophecy—which called for a royal marriage—would come true. But what did the word 'royal' even entail? Did the wizard she would eventually marry have to be in line for the English thrown? Did the thrown even have to be English? Or was someone related to the royal family—though not in line to inherit the thrown—sufficient enough to qualify under the definition?

Bloody prophecies.

Frank wondered if Dumbledore intended to ever tell Lily the true nature of the prophecy. He imagined learning that her child would be the one responsible for vanquishing the Dark Lord would be a heavy burden for her to carry—perhaps even worse than believing she was the one who would have to eventually carry out the task. And what of the man that one day married her? It would take a courageous—perhaps even mad—wizard to marry and bear children with a woman who was being fervently pursued by one of the most blood-thirsty wizards in history…

Then again, if Dumbledore doesn't tell him, he wouldn't even know what he was getting himself into…

Frank closed his eyes, suddenly feeling angry. He didn't want to have to wait until a child was born and grown or rely on its prophesized powers to be rid of Voldemort: he wanted him dead now. How many years until Lily got married or pregnant, or until the child was born and grown? How much longer would the wizarding world have to live in fear?

We're relying on a scared, powerless girl when we should be relying on ourselves…

"Ah, there you are, Frank. I've been searching for you."

Frank's eyes flew open when he heard Lord Dumbledore's voice sound from behind him. Hastily straightening up, Frank turned to face the timeworn wizard, whose insightful gaze made it seem as if he knew exactly what he had been thinking about.

"Lord Dumbledore…I did not think you would be back until tomorrow afternoon," Frank said, surprised.

"It was easier penetrating the Canadian archives than I expected," Dumbledore offered a small smile, his spectacles reflecting the fading sun. "A few implanted memories and forged documents were all it took. My poor sister is in such ill-health, it was easy to embed memories of Lily."

The thought of Dumbledore magically persuading his own sister to believe she had a daughter made Frank feel uneasy. "Was it really necessary to do that? You think Voldemort would really seek out your sister for verification, should he become suspicious of Aurora Rockford?"

"We must consider every possibility," Dumbledore said mysteriously, folding his hands. "Poor Arianna is so frail that she would not be able to resist his mental exploration into her mind as we would. As it is, she has been safely hidden away and is being cared for. In the very unlikely event that he locates her, she will not unravel our plan."

"And Aberforth?" Frank inquired.

"He is aware of our plan. He will not give away Lily's disguise," Dumbledore responded casually, ever cool in the face of quandary. "I will have everything taken care of and will fill you and the others in later tonight. Now, tell me of your trip to Hogsmeade."

"It went well I suppose…" Frank began tentatively, nervous that Dumbledore would be cross with him and regret involving him in Lily's security plan. "Lily was composed when out in the open, though you could tell she was enamoured by the sights. The village was all but empty, and we did not encounter anyone we knew—that is, until Lily came into contact with Narcissa Black in the clothier."

"Ah yes, the youngest daughter of Cygnus and Druella Black," Dumbledore remarked softly, his blue eyes tapering in thought. "She'll be attending Hogwarts for her seventh year in September, as I recall."

"She's also sister to Bellatrix and currently courting Lucius Malfoy," Frank muttered warily, his loathing for them apparent in his tone. "I needn't remind you that Bellatrix almost killed Potter in that raid in Paris, and that Lucius has been strangely absent from the social circuit this summer."

"Quite right. How did her encounter with Narcissa transpire?" Dumbledore catechized through frowning lips, intently focused on Frank.

"She didn't really speak of it, but from what I gathered nothing went amiss," Frank said, looking positively culpable. "Lily mentioned leaving after her arrival at the clothing shop, but words were exchanged between the two before her departure."

"I'll have to ask her about it at breakfast tomorrow morning. I would like you to join us," Dumbledore said kindly, though he was instructing Frank more than asking him. "I've arranged a room in the castle for you. I dare say you'll be spending quite a lot of time here helping me instruct the girl—more than both Moody and Kingsley combined. Of course, you must split your time between Hogwarts and home: I'm sure your mother and father will become suspicious if you are gone for long, and we can't have that."

"I'm accustomed to making excuses for not being around," Frank said, thinking on all the strange times he'd had to leave the manor for Order meetings. "I'll let my mother and father continue believing I'm a closet alcoholic. As long as I attend the right parties and shake hands with the right people, they don't much care what I'm up to."

"Very good. I do hope you know how much your dedication to this cause is appreciated," Dumbledore remarked genuinely, moving toward the castle doors with Frank in tow. "Your talent and age made you the perfect candidate to help protect our dear girl. I daresay she will place more trust in you than Moody or Kingsley—perhaps even I—due to your age and the propinquity in which the two of you will be working. Perhaps you'll even become friends."

Frank looked confused. "Lord Dumbledore…what is to be my relation to the fictitious Aurora Rockford? What character will I be playing in your plan?"

Dumbledore smiled mischievously, his blue eyes twinkling. "You'll be courting her."

"Do you understand how a charm requires both the proper pronunciation and wand movement? If either is done incorrectly, the spell will not only fail, but possibly cause unintended magical effects," Snape lectured monotonously an hour later, referring to a passage in Lily's textbook. "You must also mean it when you cast the spell; if you are not fully committed, the spell will be unsuccessful. I'm sure you are already aware of these exceedingly basic principles, yes?"

Lily quickly scanned the page again, gulping. None of the magical theories they had read over seemed as easy as she had anticipated them to be: "Yes...yes I'm aware of them, of course," she lied.

"Good. I would've been surprised had you not been," Snape said seriously, suspicious of the uncertain look on the girl's face. "They are, after all, elementary principles known by most witches and wizards even before they begin school. Now, let us test your practical knowledge. Open The Standard Book of Spells to page eleven."

Lily did as she was told, a sinking feeling in her stomach at the thought of having to demonstrate how little she did in fact know. Once she turned to the correct page in the textbook, she absorbed its contents as fast as she possibly could, stopping only when Snape instructed her to rise from her seat.

"I would like you to demonstrate a few spells for me," Snape started, indicating Lily to stand beside him. "I will tell you what I want you to do, and you will proceed by ascertaining the spell which can perform the task. Understand?"

"Er…yes, but—"

"Wand at the ready," Snape commanded, causing Lily to reflexively hold her wand in front of her. The dark-haired wizard looked down at the list of spells in his hand and continued, unaware of her nervousness. "First, cause your wand to emit a burst of light."

Burst of light...burst of light...I just read something about that...

"LUMOS!" Lily exclaimed forcefully, her heart beating fretfully in her chest as she dramatically brandished her wand and its tip began to shine with unnatural brilliance—brilliance which not only illuminated the titles of her textbooks, but made the centre of the library glow dazzlingly.

I DID IT!

"Correct…but you needn't shout the incantation—" Snape commented skeptically, wary of the girl's visible relief at being able to produce the simplest spell in the textbook. "—and you need not show off. You've made the spell far more powerful than need be—"

Show off? This is the first spell I've ever cast, you wanker…

"—next I want you to put out the light of your wand."

I read this one, too…

"Nox," Lily practically whispered, resolve building in her voice as she was able to recall the second incantation in the textbook. To her immense relief, the light of her wand went out instantly; she struggled to hide her glee.

"Wingardium Leviosa," Snape uttered without acknowledging her achievement, one of the textbooks on their table floating up into the air. "Next, cause this book to descend back to the table."

"Descendo!" Lily initiated immediately, careful to pronounce the incantation correctly as she carefully shifted the book back onto the wooden tabletop with subtle downward movements.

This magic thing isn't as hard as it looks!

"Good. Now produce a jet of water from the end of your wand," Snape continued evenly, his eyes attentive to her every movement.

Oh bullocks.

"Er—Incendio!" Lily shouted haphazardly, pointing her wand toward the table and pronouncing the first spell that popped into her head.

Snape gasped before the spell even took effect, prepared when the table suddenly burst into a ferocious fire and flames angrily engulfed its wooden shape, licking toward the bookshelves. At the sight, Lily yelped in disbelief, her eyes wide as the fire she produced emitted a torrent of intense heat and cloudy smoke that swirled toward the library ceiling…

"FINITE INCANTATUM!" Snape roared assertively, attempting to duel the fierce flames with his wand. Once the fire was extinguished—a feat which took almost a minute—he turned on the stunned girl, sweat beading on his brow from his fire fight. "Are you trying to burn down the entire library?"

"I t-t-thought that was the right spell," Lily stuttered stupidly, watching one of her new quills smoulder on the tabletop. "I'm sorry, I—"

"That display was the exact opposite of what I wanted you to do, wasn't it?" Snape demanded haughtily, his resolve slipping. "This is what I wanted you to do: Aguamenti!"

Lily watched as a stream of clear-blue water spouted from the end of Snape's wand and puddled on the floor before him. Without being told, Lily shamefully replicated his wand movement and enunciated "Aguamenti," causing water to spill from the end of her wand and meld with the growing pool on the floor.

Snape looked down at the water angrily, than back to the silent girl. "How is it you can confuse such rudimentary spells with one another? Not even a first year student would make such a disastrous and clumsy mistake. Not only that, but you conjured a strain of enchanted fire, which is exceptionally dangerous and forbidden for students to use."

Lily suddenly felt livid, Snape's mockery upsetting her as he would never know of her true disadvantage. He was trying to make her feel stupid and he was succeeding; yet she had been able to produce a few spells without any instruction and without any prior knowledge of magic.

"What has my uncle told you of my magical abilities? What level would he consider me to be at?" Lily demanded, her eyes hardening into ice. "How high are your expectations of me, exactly?"

"After that display, I can tell you my expectations are very low indeed," Snape bit back unkindly, his dark eyes—more troubled that characteristically cold—intensely regarding her. "Dumbledore never indicated what level you are at; hence my testing of you. Based upon your age, I expected you to be at least a moderate spell caster…but it seems you are barely better than a novice."

Lily griped her wand tightly, furiously staring back at the cruel teacher as his offensive words scarred her deeper than any physical altercation could. All her life she had been the brightest student—her intelligence her primary source of self-esteem—but now she was being made to feel like a failure.

"I suppose I should take your disparaging opinion of my abilities as a compliment, Professor Snape," Lily practically spat as she turned and began gathering up her History of Magic and Charms textbooks in her arms; Snape watched her with a curious frown.

"I won't bother imagining how you can manage that," Snape scoffed, his frown turning into a patronizing smile. "And you can stop packing up your books, little Dumbledore. We aren't finished here."

Little Dumbledore?

"Yes, we are," Lily pronounced wrathfully, her blue eyes reflecting an emotion indistinguishable to Snape as she brushed past him with her bag slung over her shoulder.

"I can't say I'm surprised you're giving up," Snape called after her, causing Lily to come to a halt and turn. "Entitled society girls don't have the discipline to become great spell castors. You are walking proof that women don't belong in Defense Against the Darks Arts."

"I'm not giving up," Lily retorted dangerously, a sudden mixture of fierce motivation and desire causing her blood to indignantly boil. "Test me again tomorrow and we'll see if your opinion of me changes."

"Somehow I doubt it will," Snape jeered, irritably turning to collect his books and tools.

Why that rude son of a—

"Why is it you're so unpleasant?" Lily blurted out in response to his cynicism, her fiery temper getting the better of her.

Snape blinked, slightly taken-aback. "Perhaps it's because I have to deal with ignorant little brats like you," he slammed his textbook down on the table and—when he noticed she had not moved from her spot—suddenly looked sharply in her direction. "Weren't you on your way out?"

Lily bit down on her lip hard. She could no longer stand the presence of the mean-spirited, rude Severus Snape, and was sure if she remained even a moment longer she would set him on fire with the ill-conceived spell she had mistakenly performed.

"It's hard to believe someone as miserly as you did such a gallant thing only a few hours ago," Lily muttered stingingly, struggling to hide her distress from the wizard; she did not want him to know how much his words harmed her. "I bet now you wish you'd never saved me."

As the girl turned and exited the library, inaudibly plunging into the adjacent stone hallway, Snape's chest panged with shame—an emotion quite foreign to him. He looked down at his potions textbook and flipped to the page where he had absentmindedly written down her name, his heavy brow creased in despondency.

Lily raced headlong down the corridor leading away from the library, angry, wounded tears threatening to spill down the sides of her cheeks. She hadn't the slightest idea where she was going, but after nearly twenty minutes of speed-walking, three flights of moving stairs and the careful avoidance of two ghosts, Lily had arrived at the ajar door of a classroom on the first floor. Not feeling up to returning to her dormitory or facing Mimi in such a fragile state, Lily plunged into the room and shut the door behind her. Once it was firmly closed, tears welled in her eyes—the product of a confusing, yet exhilarating day. Lily heaved a strained breath and collapsed into the nearest chair, quietly laying her head down on the desk she occupied and blinking back tears she was too tired to weep.

Inhaling deeply, Lily recalled the words Snape had only moments ago said to her. She felt as if he had stolen something from her: confidence in her own abilities and the staggering joy and pride she had felt when she had successfully conjured her first spell ever…

Stupid bloody professor…what the hell is his problem? I'll show that idiot...by the end of it I'll be teaching him how to properly cast spells…miserable prat…

Lily ripped open her schoolbag and plunked all of her textbooks onto the desk before her, placing The Standard Book of Spells on the top of the pile. Turning to the page she and her wretched teacher had left off on, she began to read carefully, taking in every detail of every incantation with unparalleled comprehension.

I won't let him win. I'm going to prove him wrong.

She wouldn't sleep until the book was finished and she could demonstrate to Snape she was just as capable as any wizard. The night would be a long one, but she didn't care.

Lucky I have a little gift he doesn't know about…

Author's Notes

Please continue to read and review :)

-pratty-prongs-princesse