Author's Note: Wow, it's been quite a while since the last time I updated.
As usual, all the characters you recognize aren't mine. they belong to J.K.
and I am sadly not her. If I was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
would have been out like 3 years ago and I would know what happens. I only
know what you all know. Sad. I hope you enjoy my story. Please Read &
Review! ~Frankie~
Chapter 7: Severus Snape's Strange Behavior.
The morning following their adventure the boys woke earlier in order to avoid Lily's wrath and another Lily/James confrontation. As it happened though, Lily was the one who was 'late'. Elizabeth followed Lily down looking extremely concerned while Lily looked red in the face, her eyes puffy and bloodshot, she'd been crying, again. She wouldn't say why and didn't even snap at James once. All she did was say, rather gloomily, "See you in the Great Hall," then she left leaving the three boys and Elizabeth utterly confused.
"What happened?" Remus asked Elizabeth worriedly.
"She must have had a nightmare, that's all I can think of. She won't say was about, and she was crying till just before she started down to the common room. Maybe she'll talk to one of you, she won't say anything to me," Elizabeth said, sighed and headed for the portrait hole, winding up in a minor skirmish with Lawrence Lindsey that ended in her saying, "You don't belong here!" and storming off.
"Wonder what that was about," Sirius said looking utterly confused, watching Lawrence vent at Peter Pettigrew, who looked squeamish and more rat faced then usual. Remus and James shrugged and Sirius proceeded to ask, "Who wants to talk to Lily?" as they walked out of the portrait hole.
"Not me, we'll just wind up arguing, you or Remus should do it," James said a slight look of concern masking his face briefly.
"You seem closer to her then me Remus, you should do it. Besides you're that listening type that mum is always complaining can't be found," Sirius said looking at Remus who seemed nervous for a moment before swallowing and nodding.
It was agreed and Remus found himself thinking, "Lily is going to figure me out! I know it!" which caused him to look extremely scared as well as nervous. Sirius noticed this and said, "Don't worry, she won't hurt you, she only turns into Lily the Dragon when she's around James." He smiled and patted Remus's shoulder in a friendly manner as they headed down to breakfast.
In the Great Hall Remus decided to talk to Lily before their first class which wasn't for 30 minutes. He quickly ate two pieces of toast and had one glass of pumpkin juice before he slid down the table to where Lily and Elizabeth were sitting in silence. "Hey Elizabeth," he said smiling in her direction.
"Hey Remus, Lily, I was hoping to get a little of the Sphinx essay done before Charms, so I'll see you both later," Elizabeth said, standing and gathering her things and sending Remus a look that said, 'Good luck!' to which he nodded in appreciation.
When Elizabeth was gone Remus asked, "Lily, could I talk to you? In private?" Lily nodded, grabbed her things and followed Remus out of the Great Hall and out into the bright sunlight filled grounds. "Lily, I noticed earlier how you were looking quite sad and I was wondering if you wanted to talk to me about it. You don't have to, I was just concerned, and I would like to help," Remus stated beginning to ramble before feeling Lily grasp his arm gently and he stopped talking.
"Over here," Lily said giving Remus the smallest smile before leading him down by Hagrid's Hut. "I had a nightmare last night. A man, who must have been Lord Voldemort, attacked and killed my father. It was like I was standing there watching, helpless as he said, 'Avada Kedavra,' and this bright green light shot at my father, killing him instantly and leaving him to fall like a rag doll onto the floor. Then I was back at school, sitting in the Great Hall with you, James, Sirius and that Peter Pettigrew boy. You were all plotting something against Snape and Malfoy, Peter's ideas were rather lame, and I got the feeling they always are. Professor Dumbledore came into the Great Hall and walked to our table, and asked me to go with him. He looked extremely distressed. He took me to his office. Remus, it felt so real, like I was awake not dreaming, it felt so real!" Lily explained her dream, tears silently running down her face, she was staring blankly into the Forbidden Forest ahead of them.
Remus looked at Lily for a moment, taking in what she'd said; she looked utterly miserable, as fragile as a porcelain doll. He had heard about Lord Voldemort, he was a dark wizard claiming responsibility for all the wizard and muggle disappearances in England for the past couple of years. There were a lot of people rumored to be on his wanted list, dead or alive, it didn't matter which. "You think your dream might have been some kind of premonition?" Remus asked grasping Lily's free hand in his and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Yes, that's what I'm most afraid of," Lily said, turning to face Remus as she started shaking uncontrollably.
"Shit," was all Remus said before he dropped his books on the dewy grass and gave her a hug. This display caused Lily to cry harder and rather hysterically, while Remus held her and he ran his hand over her bent head. He could feel her tears soaking through his robes. "I honestly don't know what to say Lil, it may or may not have been a premonition but I do know that getting things out by talking to people who care about you is really helpful. I wish I could do more to help," he said and wondered if he would ever be able to use his own advice concerning his own predicament. "Are you going to be able to go to Charms today?" Remus asked realizing they only had about ten minutes to make their way up to the castle and find the room.
Lily nodded and said, "I'll be fine Remus, thank you for listening to what must seem extremely foolish," and she wiped the tears from her face. "I'm going to go clean myself up quickly before going to Charms. Tell everyone I'll be there shortly," she said sending Remus a very Lily-like smile as she gathered her books and jogged back to the castle.
Remus wiped his brow on the sleeve of his robes, gathered up his own books and followed Lily's steps up to the castle doors. He reached the charms classroom right before the bell and sat down as it rang. "Where's Lily? Is she okay?" Sirius whispered.
"She'll be here soon," Remus mumbled under his breath as a tiny man standing on a box behind the podium before them had started taking roll call. Six names went by before he called, "Lily Evans?"
The door opened and Lily came in, "Sorry I'm late Professor," she said breathlessly as she made her way down to a seat between Remus and Elizabeth. "I had a little trouble finding the classroom," she said red in the face, from crying and running.
"Alright Miss Evans, please sit, I trust this will not happen again," before he started roll call again.
Lily whispered, "Thanks again Remus," who nodded and smiled at her before turning his attention back to the tiny man that would be their Charms teacher.
"I am Professor Flitwick, your Charms instructor. I am going to be teaching you all the need to know Charms for everyday life as well as some simple and handy ones for life in general. Please take out your wands and we will begin," he said and began his demonstration of the swish and flick motion useful for practicing most spells. As the class ended he called out, "In the next class we will be working on levitation!" The bell rang and the class filed out.
"What's our next class Lily?" Remus asked as they left the classroom.
Lily pushed her hair out of her face and thought for a second, "Transfiguration, with the Ravenclaws," she said and watched as James smiled. "Looking forward to Transfiguration are you James?" she asked her face still a little red from her morning, but other then that almost back to normal.
"Yes actually. My dad was really good at Transfiguration told me a lot about it, and I'm looking forward to it," James said, seeing that Lily's eyes looked strange as soon as he mentioned his father. "Are you okay Lily?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah. I'm just fine. How long do we have till Transfiguration?" Lily asked, looking over at Remus as she tried to compose herself.
Remus grabbed his schedule, "An hour or so, why?" he asked and then noticed that she was going to cry again.
"I need to, uh, get something from my room, I'll see you later," she said, flashed them a watery smile and ran down the hallway toward the bathroom. She ran inside and locked herself in one of the stalls. She started shaking again as she sat on the toilet, her legs tucked up under her. She'd dropped her books when she'd gotten into the door, so they were lying somewhere by the sinks. Lily covered her eyes, sobbing hysterically, remembering the dream again, and seeing the man laughing as her father fell down dead on the floor.
"Are you alright?" a girls voice came from just in front of her. Lily opened her eyes and looked up. A pale, translucent girl was floating there, she was wearing glasses and it sounded like she had been crying too.
Lily's eyes widened, "Y-you're a ghost?" she stuttered, she'd seen Nearly Headless Nick before, but it wasn't up close, just like she'd seen The Bloody Baron from across the hall, but she hadn't been this close to one before.
The girl looked a little angry for a second but then she said, "Yes, I'm a ghost. My name is Myrtle, what's yours?"
"Lily, my name is Lily," she said, looking down at the floor, wiping the tears from her face.
"Lily, may I ask what's wrong?" the ghost Myrtle asked, floating as if she was sitting across from Lily at a table.
"Nightmares, about my father dying, I keep thinking that they'll come true," Lily whispered, more tears falling down her face.
"Oh, Lily, that's awful. When did this happen?" Myrtle asked, sounding really sympathetic.
"This morning, I don't know what to do," Lily said, looking up at the ghost, feeling like she had something very much in common with her.
"Well, have you owled your father? Told him about the dream? Maybe he'll be able to help you. Or have you told a friend, since I'm obviously not a friend of yours, at least not a solid one," Myrtle asked, stating what should have been completely obvious to Lily since she woke up.
"Myrtle, you're a genius. Thank you! I'll come back and tell you what happens okay?" Lily said starting to climb off the toilet.
Myrtle smiled, and Lily thought she looked fairly pretty behind the glasses. "Go on, get up to the Owlery," Myrtle said floating through the door just before Lily opened it. "Good luck," she said watching Lily gather her books from the floor.
"Thanks again!" Lily called and raced out of the bathroom, nearly colliding with Serverus Snape. "Oh, uh, sorry," Lily said, her eyes wide as she looked at him as she realized she must look like she'd been run over by a train.
"L-lily, I, um. er, are you okay?" Snape asked, his sallow skin going pink again like it had the night previous. His eyes were about as wide as hers.
"Yeah, just fine, I have to go, I've got Transfiguration," Lily said, pushing her hair out of her face.
"Oh, with the Ravenclaws?" Snape asked, quietly, looking down at his feet.
"Yes, and I really need to get to the Owlery. Sorry that I almost plowed you over," Lily said, about to change directions and head toward the Owlery.
"It's okay, no harm done. Do you know how to get to the Owlery?" Snape asked, before Lily could get very far.
"I. um, actually I don't. Do you?" Lily asked, quietly, looking over at him, watching as he flushed almost red.
"Yeah, I could, er, show you, if you wanted," Snape said, looking like a Christmas light in the middle of nowhere.
"Sure, it's better then wandering around for an hour and being late to class," Lily said and smiled, thinking, 'He's really not all that bad, not nearly as bad as Malfoy.'
"I, uh, okay. It's this way," Snape said gesturing in the opposite direction that Lily had been planning to go. Lily nodded and followed him down the corridor. They walked in silence until Snape said, "I'm sorry about what happened at Diagon Alley," he barely whispered it and Lily almost missed it. "My father isn't the nicest man in the world," he said, and then looked extremely troubled, like shouldn't have said that.
"Really? I couldn't have guessed," Lily said, sarcastically. Snape looked at her briefly before laughing, it was actually a cheerful sound, and it made Lily smile.
They walked up a couple staircases together, in a respectful silence before arriving at the Owlery. "Thank you, Serverus. I appreciate this," Lily said as Niobe flew down from her perch and landed on Lily's shoulder, nipping her ear affectionately.
"Not a problem Lily." and he trailed off, hearing someone from behind him coming up the stairs.
"Where did that stupid moron go?" Lily heard Malfoy's voice from the corridor behind Snape and watched as his face went decidedly pale. Snape gulped once and he walked into the corridor, "Are you looking for me Lucious?" Lily heard Snape's voice say, calmly.
"No, some other moron that my father told me to watch, c'mon," Malfoy said then asked, "Why are you up here anyway?"
"Sending an owl to my mother, Lucious, that's why this is called the Owlery," Snape said snidely, his voice fading as they walked away from the Owlery.
Lily stood there with Niobe on her shoulder, waiting for Malfoy and Snape to come back and do something horrible. They didn't. Snape successfully led Malfoy away, leaving Lily to send her letter and she found herself thinking, 'Maybe he's not so bad.' Lily shook herself and pulled out her quill and a piece of parchment. She began her letter.
Dad,
I had a nightmare last night. It was about that man you told me about, Voldemort, coming to kill you. He did, and then Professor Dumbledore came and told me that you'd been killed. It felt really real. When I woke up I just started crying. It's been affecting me all day. I don't know if it means something, but, it's been bothering me. I love you a lot Dad and I don't know what I would do if that bad man killed you. It scares me.
Love always,
Your Daughter, Lily.
P.S. Serverus Snape isn't really that bad. I think.
Lily quickly wrote out the letter and tied it to Niobe. "Bring this to Dad, wherever he is. Make it fast Niobe, it's really important," Lily whispered and Niobe nipped her finger reassuringly before taking flight out one of the many windows in the Owlery. Lily was about to leave before she decided to send one more thing.
Serverus, Thank you.
She grabbed one of the school owls and tied it to it. The owl flew off and left Lily in the Owlery with the other sleeping owls. She realized she only had a little bit to get to Transfiguration and she set off at a run toward the classroom. She got there just as the bell was ringing and saw Professor Dumbledore inside and for a moment feared the worst. "Don't worry Miss Evans, I'm the teacher," he said, gesturing for her to take a seat.
Lily nodded and made her way over to where Remus, James and Sirius were saving her a seat. "You okay? You looked like you were going to faint for a second there at the door," James said, eyeing her curiously.
"Yeah, I'm just fine," Lily said sighing and turning her attention to Professor Dumbledore.
Dumbledore looked around at all of them and smiled, "As it appears to me that all who are supposed to be here are, I will begin," he said, "Today I will be teaching you the theory behind Transfiguration, because without knowing the theory you won't ever completely understand it. Please take notes," he stated and began talking smiling while the students scribbled hastily on rolls of parchment. As the class period began to wind down Dumbledore called out, "Miss Evans, please stay after a moment."
Remus saw Lily pale considerably and wondered if she thought that her dream was coming true. "Everything is fine Lil, don't worry," he whispered to her, smiling in a reassuring way.
Now, James and Sirius couldn't help noticing that Remus and Lily seemed to have this unspoken conversation and were rather desperate to know what it was about. Since it had started that day they assumed, correctly, that it was about Lily's supposed nightmare that Elizabeth had spoken of. "What happened this morning Remus?" James asked, looking between the two of them.
"That's up to Lily to tell you," Remus said quietly, though Lily heard and smiled graciously in his direction.
"Argh! Lily, tell us what happened will you?" James asked a look of concern on his face though his voice seemed frustrated.
"Mister Potter, I advise not badgering the girl or she won't tell you," Professor Dumbledore said quietly as he passed their table. This caused James to blush, Sirius to laugh, Lily to sigh in gratitude and Remus to stare blankly and wonder, 'How is this man so completely funny?'
"I'll tell you two later, after it's worn off a bit. I've got something else to tell you too," Lily said, thinking about Snape's strange behavior.
They nodded and class period ended, Lily slowly gathered her things and walked to the front of the room where Dumbledore sat quietly waiting for the students to leave. "Please sit down, Lily," he said gently before asking, "Is there anything you'd like to talk about? Though I might say you've talked to a couple of good listeners already," and he smiled in a comforting way.
"I, I don't know if I should, you might think it foolish, a child's nightmare," Lily said, looking down at her hands that were twisting her robes in a nervous manner in her lap.
"Trust me, nothing you say will be silly at all," Dumbledore said, his kind face serious, though light still twinkled in his eyes.
"Well, I had a nightmare last night. I dreamt that Lord Voldemort came and k-killed my father as if I were there watching. Then I was back at school, just with a bad feeling, and you came to me at breakfast and asked me to follow you to your office and there you told me, that Lord Voldemort had killed my father," Lily said, silent tears falling down her face, though she didn't start convulsing this time when talking about it, she considered it progress.
"And I imagine you think it could have been a premonition," Dumbledore said the light in his eyes seeming to fade and at Lily's nod he said, "It may have been. I cannot say if it was or wasn't, Lily. I suggest owling your father and telling him about it, he might have something more reassuring to say then I, or a ghost or a friend may have," and he smiled when Lily looked startled. "Myrtle came to me before class started and said you'd been crying and you'd had a nightmare. Myrtle is particularly helpful sometimes, don't worry, she hasn't told any one else and I would have asked to see you either way for the look you gave me when you walked in and saw me was quite frightful," Dumbledore explained.
"How'd you know about Remus?" Lily asked, and then smacked her forehead remembering James' questioning. "Do you suggest I tell them?" she asked looking worried.
"Might be an advantage, but only if you want to. You can go now, if you don't have anymore questions," Dumbledore said.
"Just one, is Serverus Snape really as bad as his father seems?" Lily asked, looking down again.
"Ah, a question that I cannot answer. Mister Snape is particularly close to Lucious Malfoy and what influences he has on him I cannot say. Though, looks can be deceiving, trust your instincts Lily, that is my advice above all else," he said and let Lily leave of her own accord to contemplate this and wonder about Serverus Snape's strange behavior.
Author's Note: Yeah, I know, Dumbledore is weird, but he's cool. *Cries because Richard Harris has passed* I hope you liked this chapter. I will try to get the next one up soon. Please R&R! ~Frankie~
Chapter 7: Severus Snape's Strange Behavior.
The morning following their adventure the boys woke earlier in order to avoid Lily's wrath and another Lily/James confrontation. As it happened though, Lily was the one who was 'late'. Elizabeth followed Lily down looking extremely concerned while Lily looked red in the face, her eyes puffy and bloodshot, she'd been crying, again. She wouldn't say why and didn't even snap at James once. All she did was say, rather gloomily, "See you in the Great Hall," then she left leaving the three boys and Elizabeth utterly confused.
"What happened?" Remus asked Elizabeth worriedly.
"She must have had a nightmare, that's all I can think of. She won't say was about, and she was crying till just before she started down to the common room. Maybe she'll talk to one of you, she won't say anything to me," Elizabeth said, sighed and headed for the portrait hole, winding up in a minor skirmish with Lawrence Lindsey that ended in her saying, "You don't belong here!" and storming off.
"Wonder what that was about," Sirius said looking utterly confused, watching Lawrence vent at Peter Pettigrew, who looked squeamish and more rat faced then usual. Remus and James shrugged and Sirius proceeded to ask, "Who wants to talk to Lily?" as they walked out of the portrait hole.
"Not me, we'll just wind up arguing, you or Remus should do it," James said a slight look of concern masking his face briefly.
"You seem closer to her then me Remus, you should do it. Besides you're that listening type that mum is always complaining can't be found," Sirius said looking at Remus who seemed nervous for a moment before swallowing and nodding.
It was agreed and Remus found himself thinking, "Lily is going to figure me out! I know it!" which caused him to look extremely scared as well as nervous. Sirius noticed this and said, "Don't worry, she won't hurt you, she only turns into Lily the Dragon when she's around James." He smiled and patted Remus's shoulder in a friendly manner as they headed down to breakfast.
In the Great Hall Remus decided to talk to Lily before their first class which wasn't for 30 minutes. He quickly ate two pieces of toast and had one glass of pumpkin juice before he slid down the table to where Lily and Elizabeth were sitting in silence. "Hey Elizabeth," he said smiling in her direction.
"Hey Remus, Lily, I was hoping to get a little of the Sphinx essay done before Charms, so I'll see you both later," Elizabeth said, standing and gathering her things and sending Remus a look that said, 'Good luck!' to which he nodded in appreciation.
When Elizabeth was gone Remus asked, "Lily, could I talk to you? In private?" Lily nodded, grabbed her things and followed Remus out of the Great Hall and out into the bright sunlight filled grounds. "Lily, I noticed earlier how you were looking quite sad and I was wondering if you wanted to talk to me about it. You don't have to, I was just concerned, and I would like to help," Remus stated beginning to ramble before feeling Lily grasp his arm gently and he stopped talking.
"Over here," Lily said giving Remus the smallest smile before leading him down by Hagrid's Hut. "I had a nightmare last night. A man, who must have been Lord Voldemort, attacked and killed my father. It was like I was standing there watching, helpless as he said, 'Avada Kedavra,' and this bright green light shot at my father, killing him instantly and leaving him to fall like a rag doll onto the floor. Then I was back at school, sitting in the Great Hall with you, James, Sirius and that Peter Pettigrew boy. You were all plotting something against Snape and Malfoy, Peter's ideas were rather lame, and I got the feeling they always are. Professor Dumbledore came into the Great Hall and walked to our table, and asked me to go with him. He looked extremely distressed. He took me to his office. Remus, it felt so real, like I was awake not dreaming, it felt so real!" Lily explained her dream, tears silently running down her face, she was staring blankly into the Forbidden Forest ahead of them.
Remus looked at Lily for a moment, taking in what she'd said; she looked utterly miserable, as fragile as a porcelain doll. He had heard about Lord Voldemort, he was a dark wizard claiming responsibility for all the wizard and muggle disappearances in England for the past couple of years. There were a lot of people rumored to be on his wanted list, dead or alive, it didn't matter which. "You think your dream might have been some kind of premonition?" Remus asked grasping Lily's free hand in his and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Yes, that's what I'm most afraid of," Lily said, turning to face Remus as she started shaking uncontrollably.
"Shit," was all Remus said before he dropped his books on the dewy grass and gave her a hug. This display caused Lily to cry harder and rather hysterically, while Remus held her and he ran his hand over her bent head. He could feel her tears soaking through his robes. "I honestly don't know what to say Lil, it may or may not have been a premonition but I do know that getting things out by talking to people who care about you is really helpful. I wish I could do more to help," he said and wondered if he would ever be able to use his own advice concerning his own predicament. "Are you going to be able to go to Charms today?" Remus asked realizing they only had about ten minutes to make their way up to the castle and find the room.
Lily nodded and said, "I'll be fine Remus, thank you for listening to what must seem extremely foolish," and she wiped the tears from her face. "I'm going to go clean myself up quickly before going to Charms. Tell everyone I'll be there shortly," she said sending Remus a very Lily-like smile as she gathered her books and jogged back to the castle.
Remus wiped his brow on the sleeve of his robes, gathered up his own books and followed Lily's steps up to the castle doors. He reached the charms classroom right before the bell and sat down as it rang. "Where's Lily? Is she okay?" Sirius whispered.
"She'll be here soon," Remus mumbled under his breath as a tiny man standing on a box behind the podium before them had started taking roll call. Six names went by before he called, "Lily Evans?"
The door opened and Lily came in, "Sorry I'm late Professor," she said breathlessly as she made her way down to a seat between Remus and Elizabeth. "I had a little trouble finding the classroom," she said red in the face, from crying and running.
"Alright Miss Evans, please sit, I trust this will not happen again," before he started roll call again.
Lily whispered, "Thanks again Remus," who nodded and smiled at her before turning his attention back to the tiny man that would be their Charms teacher.
"I am Professor Flitwick, your Charms instructor. I am going to be teaching you all the need to know Charms for everyday life as well as some simple and handy ones for life in general. Please take out your wands and we will begin," he said and began his demonstration of the swish and flick motion useful for practicing most spells. As the class ended he called out, "In the next class we will be working on levitation!" The bell rang and the class filed out.
"What's our next class Lily?" Remus asked as they left the classroom.
Lily pushed her hair out of her face and thought for a second, "Transfiguration, with the Ravenclaws," she said and watched as James smiled. "Looking forward to Transfiguration are you James?" she asked her face still a little red from her morning, but other then that almost back to normal.
"Yes actually. My dad was really good at Transfiguration told me a lot about it, and I'm looking forward to it," James said, seeing that Lily's eyes looked strange as soon as he mentioned his father. "Are you okay Lily?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah. I'm just fine. How long do we have till Transfiguration?" Lily asked, looking over at Remus as she tried to compose herself.
Remus grabbed his schedule, "An hour or so, why?" he asked and then noticed that she was going to cry again.
"I need to, uh, get something from my room, I'll see you later," she said, flashed them a watery smile and ran down the hallway toward the bathroom. She ran inside and locked herself in one of the stalls. She started shaking again as she sat on the toilet, her legs tucked up under her. She'd dropped her books when she'd gotten into the door, so they were lying somewhere by the sinks. Lily covered her eyes, sobbing hysterically, remembering the dream again, and seeing the man laughing as her father fell down dead on the floor.
"Are you alright?" a girls voice came from just in front of her. Lily opened her eyes and looked up. A pale, translucent girl was floating there, she was wearing glasses and it sounded like she had been crying too.
Lily's eyes widened, "Y-you're a ghost?" she stuttered, she'd seen Nearly Headless Nick before, but it wasn't up close, just like she'd seen The Bloody Baron from across the hall, but she hadn't been this close to one before.
The girl looked a little angry for a second but then she said, "Yes, I'm a ghost. My name is Myrtle, what's yours?"
"Lily, my name is Lily," she said, looking down at the floor, wiping the tears from her face.
"Lily, may I ask what's wrong?" the ghost Myrtle asked, floating as if she was sitting across from Lily at a table.
"Nightmares, about my father dying, I keep thinking that they'll come true," Lily whispered, more tears falling down her face.
"Oh, Lily, that's awful. When did this happen?" Myrtle asked, sounding really sympathetic.
"This morning, I don't know what to do," Lily said, looking up at the ghost, feeling like she had something very much in common with her.
"Well, have you owled your father? Told him about the dream? Maybe he'll be able to help you. Or have you told a friend, since I'm obviously not a friend of yours, at least not a solid one," Myrtle asked, stating what should have been completely obvious to Lily since she woke up.
"Myrtle, you're a genius. Thank you! I'll come back and tell you what happens okay?" Lily said starting to climb off the toilet.
Myrtle smiled, and Lily thought she looked fairly pretty behind the glasses. "Go on, get up to the Owlery," Myrtle said floating through the door just before Lily opened it. "Good luck," she said watching Lily gather her books from the floor.
"Thanks again!" Lily called and raced out of the bathroom, nearly colliding with Serverus Snape. "Oh, uh, sorry," Lily said, her eyes wide as she looked at him as she realized she must look like she'd been run over by a train.
"L-lily, I, um. er, are you okay?" Snape asked, his sallow skin going pink again like it had the night previous. His eyes were about as wide as hers.
"Yeah, just fine, I have to go, I've got Transfiguration," Lily said, pushing her hair out of her face.
"Oh, with the Ravenclaws?" Snape asked, quietly, looking down at his feet.
"Yes, and I really need to get to the Owlery. Sorry that I almost plowed you over," Lily said, about to change directions and head toward the Owlery.
"It's okay, no harm done. Do you know how to get to the Owlery?" Snape asked, before Lily could get very far.
"I. um, actually I don't. Do you?" Lily asked, quietly, looking over at him, watching as he flushed almost red.
"Yeah, I could, er, show you, if you wanted," Snape said, looking like a Christmas light in the middle of nowhere.
"Sure, it's better then wandering around for an hour and being late to class," Lily said and smiled, thinking, 'He's really not all that bad, not nearly as bad as Malfoy.'
"I, uh, okay. It's this way," Snape said gesturing in the opposite direction that Lily had been planning to go. Lily nodded and followed him down the corridor. They walked in silence until Snape said, "I'm sorry about what happened at Diagon Alley," he barely whispered it and Lily almost missed it. "My father isn't the nicest man in the world," he said, and then looked extremely troubled, like shouldn't have said that.
"Really? I couldn't have guessed," Lily said, sarcastically. Snape looked at her briefly before laughing, it was actually a cheerful sound, and it made Lily smile.
They walked up a couple staircases together, in a respectful silence before arriving at the Owlery. "Thank you, Serverus. I appreciate this," Lily said as Niobe flew down from her perch and landed on Lily's shoulder, nipping her ear affectionately.
"Not a problem Lily." and he trailed off, hearing someone from behind him coming up the stairs.
"Where did that stupid moron go?" Lily heard Malfoy's voice from the corridor behind Snape and watched as his face went decidedly pale. Snape gulped once and he walked into the corridor, "Are you looking for me Lucious?" Lily heard Snape's voice say, calmly.
"No, some other moron that my father told me to watch, c'mon," Malfoy said then asked, "Why are you up here anyway?"
"Sending an owl to my mother, Lucious, that's why this is called the Owlery," Snape said snidely, his voice fading as they walked away from the Owlery.
Lily stood there with Niobe on her shoulder, waiting for Malfoy and Snape to come back and do something horrible. They didn't. Snape successfully led Malfoy away, leaving Lily to send her letter and she found herself thinking, 'Maybe he's not so bad.' Lily shook herself and pulled out her quill and a piece of parchment. She began her letter.
Dad,
I had a nightmare last night. It was about that man you told me about, Voldemort, coming to kill you. He did, and then Professor Dumbledore came and told me that you'd been killed. It felt really real. When I woke up I just started crying. It's been affecting me all day. I don't know if it means something, but, it's been bothering me. I love you a lot Dad and I don't know what I would do if that bad man killed you. It scares me.
Love always,
Your Daughter, Lily.
P.S. Serverus Snape isn't really that bad. I think.
Lily quickly wrote out the letter and tied it to Niobe. "Bring this to Dad, wherever he is. Make it fast Niobe, it's really important," Lily whispered and Niobe nipped her finger reassuringly before taking flight out one of the many windows in the Owlery. Lily was about to leave before she decided to send one more thing.
Serverus, Thank you.
She grabbed one of the school owls and tied it to it. The owl flew off and left Lily in the Owlery with the other sleeping owls. She realized she only had a little bit to get to Transfiguration and she set off at a run toward the classroom. She got there just as the bell was ringing and saw Professor Dumbledore inside and for a moment feared the worst. "Don't worry Miss Evans, I'm the teacher," he said, gesturing for her to take a seat.
Lily nodded and made her way over to where Remus, James and Sirius were saving her a seat. "You okay? You looked like you were going to faint for a second there at the door," James said, eyeing her curiously.
"Yeah, I'm just fine," Lily said sighing and turning her attention to Professor Dumbledore.
Dumbledore looked around at all of them and smiled, "As it appears to me that all who are supposed to be here are, I will begin," he said, "Today I will be teaching you the theory behind Transfiguration, because without knowing the theory you won't ever completely understand it. Please take notes," he stated and began talking smiling while the students scribbled hastily on rolls of parchment. As the class period began to wind down Dumbledore called out, "Miss Evans, please stay after a moment."
Remus saw Lily pale considerably and wondered if she thought that her dream was coming true. "Everything is fine Lil, don't worry," he whispered to her, smiling in a reassuring way.
Now, James and Sirius couldn't help noticing that Remus and Lily seemed to have this unspoken conversation and were rather desperate to know what it was about. Since it had started that day they assumed, correctly, that it was about Lily's supposed nightmare that Elizabeth had spoken of. "What happened this morning Remus?" James asked, looking between the two of them.
"That's up to Lily to tell you," Remus said quietly, though Lily heard and smiled graciously in his direction.
"Argh! Lily, tell us what happened will you?" James asked a look of concern on his face though his voice seemed frustrated.
"Mister Potter, I advise not badgering the girl or she won't tell you," Professor Dumbledore said quietly as he passed their table. This caused James to blush, Sirius to laugh, Lily to sigh in gratitude and Remus to stare blankly and wonder, 'How is this man so completely funny?'
"I'll tell you two later, after it's worn off a bit. I've got something else to tell you too," Lily said, thinking about Snape's strange behavior.
They nodded and class period ended, Lily slowly gathered her things and walked to the front of the room where Dumbledore sat quietly waiting for the students to leave. "Please sit down, Lily," he said gently before asking, "Is there anything you'd like to talk about? Though I might say you've talked to a couple of good listeners already," and he smiled in a comforting way.
"I, I don't know if I should, you might think it foolish, a child's nightmare," Lily said, looking down at her hands that were twisting her robes in a nervous manner in her lap.
"Trust me, nothing you say will be silly at all," Dumbledore said, his kind face serious, though light still twinkled in his eyes.
"Well, I had a nightmare last night. I dreamt that Lord Voldemort came and k-killed my father as if I were there watching. Then I was back at school, just with a bad feeling, and you came to me at breakfast and asked me to follow you to your office and there you told me, that Lord Voldemort had killed my father," Lily said, silent tears falling down her face, though she didn't start convulsing this time when talking about it, she considered it progress.
"And I imagine you think it could have been a premonition," Dumbledore said the light in his eyes seeming to fade and at Lily's nod he said, "It may have been. I cannot say if it was or wasn't, Lily. I suggest owling your father and telling him about it, he might have something more reassuring to say then I, or a ghost or a friend may have," and he smiled when Lily looked startled. "Myrtle came to me before class started and said you'd been crying and you'd had a nightmare. Myrtle is particularly helpful sometimes, don't worry, she hasn't told any one else and I would have asked to see you either way for the look you gave me when you walked in and saw me was quite frightful," Dumbledore explained.
"How'd you know about Remus?" Lily asked, and then smacked her forehead remembering James' questioning. "Do you suggest I tell them?" she asked looking worried.
"Might be an advantage, but only if you want to. You can go now, if you don't have anymore questions," Dumbledore said.
"Just one, is Serverus Snape really as bad as his father seems?" Lily asked, looking down again.
"Ah, a question that I cannot answer. Mister Snape is particularly close to Lucious Malfoy and what influences he has on him I cannot say. Though, looks can be deceiving, trust your instincts Lily, that is my advice above all else," he said and let Lily leave of her own accord to contemplate this and wonder about Serverus Snape's strange behavior.
Author's Note: Yeah, I know, Dumbledore is weird, but he's cool. *Cries because Richard Harris has passed* I hope you liked this chapter. I will try to get the next one up soon. Please R&R! ~Frankie~