Facade

Chapter 1

Hello! This is my first story, so be nice. This isn't an OC i'm writing about, and it should be fairly obvious who i'm talking about. All will be revealed in further chapters though.

Discaimer: NOT MINE!!

Spoilers: Buffy: Almost none right now. Will be a bit A/U
HP: A/U after the second book (hint hint)

PLEASE REVIEW!! Make my life worth living...

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She stared at the doors she had passed through so many times before in years previous. Internally she was more than a bit put out, remembering them as much bigger and intimidating than they currently seemed. The anxious first years next to her whispered amongst themselves, speculating as to what the other side of the doors held. She held herself apart, listening in to the numerous--and in most cases outlandish--rumors of the Sorting Ceremony. Honestly, pixies? What did pixies have to do with anything? She squelched a giggle. She could have told them, thus saving them much anxiety, but it was too much fun to simply let them guess. It was, anyway, what her older brothers had done. She put an immediate halt on that train of thought. She had no older brothers, she had two older sisters and lots of older sibling-type people. She nodded minutely and started as the doors chose that exact moment to open. Her breath whooshed out as she stepped into the Great Hall and was assaulted by the ghosts of memory and more real whispers. She supposed a fourteen year old in a group of eleven year olds would cause some reaction. She caught sight of five familiar faces sitting at the table bedecked in red and gold and froze. There they were. Or rather, there some of them were. Seeing three of the gazes sharpen, she immediately jumped forward and looked to the other side of the hall. In no way suspicious, she knew. Maybe they'd put it down to the normal hero worship they received? She may not have been actively in the wizarding world, but she kept up wit the newspapers and had heard all about the Trio's dangerous stunts. As she looked tho the other side of the room she caught sight of the Slytherin serpent banner high above their table and shuddered involuntarily. Some memories of Hogwart's were better buried deep, deep in her conscience. Headmaster Dumbledore looked the same when he stood to make her introductions, same twinkly blue eyes, same star dusted robes, same small smile. A smile that currently held a little more mischief than usual. "As many of you have undoubtedly noticed," Dumbledore said looking around the hall, obviously referring to the whispers that were dying down at every table, "we have a transfer student. She comes to us from the United States, from a Muggle school. Her cousin has been teaching her some magic, and she will be entering the Fourth Year. Please welcome Lily Summers." The whispers in the hall doubled in intensity. When every eye in the crowded hall turned to her it was all she could do to smile and wave weakly. Harry looked her up and down with a small frown, and it was all she could do not to run. Dawn and Spike had assured her the hair dye and small glamours she had used were a more than adequate disguise. The now brown hair and tan skin in addition to three years she had spent away had changed her. Professor McGonagall quickly assumed control after Headmaster Dumbledore sat, and began the Sorting Ceremony. "Adalar, David." She called with above the whispers. A tiny blonde boy sat on the stool and was promptly sent to Hufflepuff. Lily felt her attention wander. This ceremony had not gotten any more interesting in her absence. She began wondering how she would keep her real identity a secret if she was in Gryffindor. She had changed in three years, but was it enough? No one in her year would know her, but the Trio might guess something was up. They were annoyingly...suspicious. But incredibly blind. And occasionally dense. But...they had kind of known her, and would catch any slip ups in her story... Her musings had her so distracted she didn't even hear Professor McGonagall call, "Summers, Lily," until the girl next to her pinched her quite hard. She yelped silently and hopped up the steps. She put the battered hat on. "Ahh. Miss-well, wouldn't do to even think it, would it? Miss Summers now, is It? Interesting. Well, I suppose I should place you in Gryffindor again..." "Not Gryffindor," Lily begged internally. She would crack under the pressure of being in the same house as The Three as they were called in American papers. Maybe Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff would suit her better, however dull they seemed. The Sorting Hat seemed to freeze. "Not Gryffindor?" A quick picture of a smirk superimposed itself in her mind. "Very well than...SLYTHERIN!!" She managed to stagger to her feet, without falling, and make it to the Slytherin table. Oh dear god, what had she asked for? A, as far as they knew, Muggle-born in Slytherin? It was all she could do not to cry. She sat at the end of the table, near the First Years, after receiving glares and a few speculative looks from the rest of the table. The only non hostile glance seemed to come from a raven haired boy sitting next to...dear god, was that Draco Malfoy? He was sending her a speculative look, as opposed to the glare she was expecting and had so often received from him. Interesting. And sitting far from his bodyguards? Also interesting. The boy to his right, was, as she had noticed before, sending her a neutral look that encouraged an almost encouraging lilt to his eyes. She wondered who he was as Dumbledore clinked his glass again to give his start of term speech. She tuned him out and began the mental run down of Slytherin students she knew from her one year at Hogwart's. Draco Malfoy was the one who had made her year hell, and had inadvertently started her down the path that had led to The Incident, as she thought of it. Lily forced her thoughts away from such devastating memories, and continued the rundown. Charles Aiken. Her year. Decent, he had helped her pick up her books after her bag broke once. He'd ruined it with comments about her family, but he got points for helping. Anna Devarish. Her year. Major Evil factor. Had made fun of her all the time. Jeremy Finch. Only Quasi-Evil. He had pretty much ignored her presence. She noticed Dumbledore's speech was coming to a halt, as was her list. She had mostly hidden from anyone with the Snake emblazoned on their chests. Piles of steaming food almost distracted her from her thoughts and the glares of her new house mates. She was almost surprised no one had attacked or insulted her yet. She supposed they would wait until they were out from under the watchful eyes of the Professors. She kept her eyes on her plate and ate her meal in silence. She realized Spike and Dawnie would be throwing a fit if they could see her. She had finally stopped the shy little girl mannerisms that had so characterized her childhood and was becoming every bit the spitfire her adoptive sisters were. It was disappointing how easily she reverted to her old ways. With self disgust, she forced her eyes off her plate and to the student on her right. He looked to be a sixth or seventh year. She smiled at him and was a but surprised to see his glare lose its edge. "Hi. I'm Lily." "Marcus Flint." He said from between crooked teeth. Lily remembered him now. Slytherin captain, had a tremendous rivalry with Oliver. The twins had loved teasing him about his teeth. She floundered for something to talk about. "Why are you here?" Maybe she wouldn't have to find something to talk about. "You mean Hogwart's? My cousin heard about it on the 'net. Said it was probably the best wizarding school in the world. Owled Dumbledore and here I am." "No. Slytherin. You're a mudblood. Mudblood's don't belong here." He said, any guise of friendliness or even neutrality gone. All that was left was hatred. Lily felt her stomach clench at the disgusting insult, even as she reared back in surprise. Her temper flared, so that when she leaned forward, her fist was already out and aiming for Flint's crooked teeth. Her fist connected with all the force in her body, sending the solid boy flying off the bench he was sitting on, with her tumbling neatly after. The uproar at the table quickly caught the attention of Professor Snape, who fairly flew down the steps from the high table. Lily sat herself up and was examining her bleeding knuckles and Flints slack jawed and bloody appearance with amusement. Madame Pomfrey quickly ushered Flint to the hospital wing, while Snape took a firm hold of Lily's robes. She took a quick glance at the Slytherin table and winked back when the darkhaired boy winked at her. She noticed the rest of the table looked dumbstruck at her quick and violent temper. A glance at the Gryffindor table had her grinning. The Twins and Wood looked like Christmas had come early. The rest of the tables were laughing uproariously at the fact that a mighty Slytherin had been toppled by a tiny girl. Snape let go of her robes once certain she wouldn't attack another person and sinisterly told her to follow him. She followed him down the all too familiar corridors, going right to the dungeons. She followed him into his office, where he instructed her to sit. Lily sat in the much too large chair which smelled of years of potions. He sat in the chair across from her and simply stared for a long moment. "What, may I ask, did Mr. Flint do to provoke such a violent reaction from you, Miss Summers?" he asked, voice only marginally less diabolic than the one he used with Gryffindors. Her lips twitched slightly, which caused his disciplinary frown to deepen. "Mister," Lily accentuated the word, "Flint decided that it would be amusing to call me a mudblood," her lips tightened in anger, "and I demonstrated why derogatory remarks are a bad thing." Snape's mouth spasmed the slightest bit before settling in a grim line. "It is the job of teachers and prefects to handle punishment. Fighting with students is fifty points and detention, Miss Summers." Great, the perfect way to begin relations with a house that already hated her. Lose fifty points the first night. "Mr Flint will be docked an additional twenty and be given detention for his degradation, however. I think it would be best if you went up to your dormitory for the rest of the night. I'll show you where it is." He crossed the room to the door and led Lily down a confusing jumble of halls to a portrait of an aristocratic young man. "The password is pureblood." Snape said as the young man bowed to them and the portrait swung open. Lily raise an eyebrow. Pureblood? That was in no way stereotypical. She frowned as Snape led her past three staircases to a fourth in the back of the room. He led her up the staircase and down a long hall to a portrait of a beautiful faery. "You'll need to tell her what you want your password to be." "Me?" asked Lily with a frown. "What?" "This is your room." Lily's frown deepened. "I get my own room?" Professor Snape smirked. "Obviously." Lily's frown blossomed into a large grin. "Oh. Then I want my password to be...William the Bloody." No one would know who that was, and he was her best friend. The portrait nodded and swung open to reveal a large, surprisingly light and airy room. Professor Snape turned away after informing her that curfew was eleven o' clock and showing her how she could call a house elf if she got hungry. She'd only had a little food before punching Flint. He turned back around and inquired after her knuckles, which had stopped bleeding, and she waved him off. He frowned and told her she could ask a prefect to show her where the Medical Wing was If she wanted them looked after. She nodded and he left. Lily smiled and got to work. Countless charms and simple spells later, the previously totally green room looked like her bedroom at home. Her already unpacked trinkets had been rearranged, and she found herself running out of things to do. Lying on the bed, she reflected briefly on how nice it was to have her own room. She wondered why the Slytherins didn't have to share rooms as the Gryffindors did. As she tried to puzzle it out, the exhausting day caught up with her and she fell to sleep, still clothed.

TBC... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next Time: (Hopefully. I have no plot yet. I follow my muses. Especially the leather wearing Draco...) -Who was the nice Slytherin? -A confrontation with Draco? -Identity leak? -Meeting with The Trio? -Flint gets his revenge?

We shall most assuredly find out!!

Please Review!!