Hot Water (subject to title change)

Chapter 1: In Too Deep

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe would be in my closet and my name would be on the cover of the books. Neither of the above is true so I'll have to keep dreaming. And the song, wide-open spaces, belongs to the Dixi Chicks and their companies, not me or mine.

Harry sighed and tore open the owl he had received, which bore the Hogwarts seal like every year. Thought this year held different circumstances for his own life, the letter read as usual and he immediately sent a letter to the Weasleys' to see how they had done that year. Reading through his Hogwarts letter again he noticed the bottom note. Students are asked to once again bring robes meant for formal occasions. Harry read the sentence again and sighed. The last time something like this had been said it had become the most complicated year of his life. It can't be so bad. He forced himself to think. It wasn't a total disaster after all... He shuddered at the memory. His date, Parvati Patil, had left him at the Yule Ball to dance with someone else because he had become preoccupied. Harry shook it off and started to pack his trunk for the upcoming year. September 1st had never been so dreaded by the boy of sixteen.

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Yurika Kuronue sighed. "Mother!" She hissed. "No!" Her Japanese accent cut through the air, earning a glare from her mother.

"Quiet! You're going to England and that's the end of it! There's no other way to escape your father or Natsuke (pronounced: Not-sue-kay)!" She growled, earning a meek look from her daughter. "Exactly." The girl bowed her apology and looked to her elegant bird companion, a crane.

"Can I take Kira?" Her mother shook her head.

"Such a creature makes you easily recognizable. You must go alone. Pack for the year, we should have everything sorted by the end." Yurika nodded and apparated to her room and gathered her things, bringing them down with her.

"Is this school as good as the one here?" The sixth year witch demanded.

"It may be, I'm not sure. I've never seen it but you can't apparate in or out." Yuri nodded; absorbing what information she could, as always. "Apparate to the gates, here's a picture. It's more beautiful inside than out, and if anyone asks you're a Russian exchange student. Your course paid off like I told you it would, didn't it." The older woman smirked, earning a glare from the girl who disappeared with her things to the school.

It was dank and gothic on the outside but, like her mother had said, the inside was amazingly beautiful. Candelabras lit the corridors, which possessed oak chamber doors that looked like they'd been brought from the dark ages and spit shined. Her vibrant purple eyes wandered through the mass of black tangle that lay before her face, unbrushed though she was yet to realize it. She cursed and pulled it into a bun with a chopstick she held in her kimono sleeve. Yuri smiled and pushed open a door that looked like it belonged in the scariest of dreams. "Umm... Professor?" She asked quietly, hoping for a response from the teacher who lay in the walls.

"Yes?" A voice chilled the air in the room like ice. "What is it, and why are you here before the year has begun?" The tall man who spoke sat at a large desk at the front of the room she had entered uneasily. She looked around at the bottles and cauldrons, not able to help but wonder what potions he could mix with them.

"Well... the headmaster knows I'm here and I was just wondering where his office might be..." She asked, trying to speak fluently as a native would. The man nodded and stood, he was taller than he had seemed when he sat at the desk.

"I shall take you, Miss... Your name girl?" He asked coolly, coming into the light he had raven shoulder-length hair that shined with grease. He wore robes with a clergyman collar and a cruel look that could scare the worst of hell's demons. She stuttered to find words.

"K-Black sir. Yur-Liliya Black." She muttered, thinking of the first name that came to mind, derived of her own of course. He nodded, buying the lie and briskly walking from the chilly room, gesturing for her to do the same. She did as commanded and ran after his long strides.

"The Headmaster knows you're here, Miss Black?" He asked, disbelieving.

"Y-yes sir." She mumbled under her breath.

"Have you been sorted into a house yet, Black?" He demanded, earning a shake of her head.

"N-no I haven't sir." She replied quieter than before.

"Professor Dumbledore, our headmaster, will explain to you." He confirmed her thoughts when he spoke again. "I'm the head of house for Slytherin, and the Potion master. You can find me in my office if you need me, but please bother Albus with your questions." He confirmed; leaving her at a large gargoyle statue that was what shown in the picture she held with the words 'gum drop' on it.

"Gum drop?" She inquired, throwing the gargoyle into a spin, which revealed a winding staircase ending in a door. Her breath shortened momentarily. As she regained it she started up the stairs curiously. "Headmaster?" She called, earning a squawk in reply. Yuri pushed the door open and saw a magnificent bird with red and gold plumage. This sight once more drew the breath from her lungs as an older man walked out of the door upstairs.

"Headmaster?" Yuri asked unsurely when the man noticed her. He smiled and neatened the half moon glasses that decorated his face.

"Yes, you must be Miss Kuronue." He assumed, earning a nod. Yuri choked on her words.

"Umm... Can you call me Liliya Black? I informed the Potions Master-"Dumbledore cut her off.

"Professor Severus Snape." He corrected. "For future reference." She nodded and went on.

"That the said was my name because, as you know, keeping a low profile is mandatory." She finished diplomatically. Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes... Yes of course." He muttered. "In any case, Miss Black. You're a bit early and without supplies, so I will ask you to stay in Diagon Alley until September 1st when you will go to Platform 9 ¾, boarding the Hogwarts Express with the other students. But, you will be sorted now as not to draw attention to you at start of term." She nodded, taking all of this and placing it in the front of her mind so she would remember. Dumbledore took a battered wizard hat from the shelf beside him.

"Wake up." He mused, causing the hat to shake off dust. Its wrinkles formed a frown.

"I haven't finished my song yet, Headmaster." It protested, drawing a chuckle from Dumbledore and a bewildered look from Liliya.

"It talks?" She demanded. Albus nodded.

"It does a lot more than that." He muttered, looking at the hat again he spoke. "You don't require a song, it's a single girl who needs to be sorted before the year starts." The hat's creases moved as if it were thinking before tipping the top into a nod.

"Alright then." Dumbledore sat the hat on her head and it thought for a moment. "Why must I always get the difficult ones?" It asked grumpily as Albus had awoken it for this. Liliya chuckled and looked up at it.

"Well?" She asked impatiently.

"Well what? Wait a minute, girly." It growled before sighing. "I'd have to say Gryffindor. The ambition of a Slytherin's there, but not enough of it. Not clever enough for Ravenclaw, or honest enough for Hufflepuff. Courage outstands them all though." Dumbledore nodded and looked at her.

"I believe Severus is waiting for you outside my office. He will guide you to the gates where you can apparate to Diagon Alley where your parents, or rather your mother, made an account for you at the Gringotts Wizarding Bank." He informed her. "Then go buy your school supplies, here is the list." He handed her a letter with the Hogwarts seal. "And a room has been set up for you at the Leaky Cauldron, you can apparate to Platform 9 ¾ on September 1st to catch the Hogwarts Express and return here." He repeated his previous instructions with more detail and she looked earnestly at the letter, running out she hit Professor Snape.

"Sorry. I hadn't thought the Headmaster had been serious..." She rambled as Severus sighed.

"Alright, follow me." He directed, leading her down spiraling staircases to the front door. Liliya bowed deeply and headed out, stopping quickly with a small frown.

"I'm sorry, Professor Snape, but I haven't been put into your house." She shrugged. "Thought you should know." She continued down to the gate and Snape returned to his dungeon to prepare lesson plans.

Liliya looked around in awe at the shops that surrounded her. "This is Diagon Alley..." She muttered, walking straight for the largest building which held a sign 'Gringotts Wizarding Bank since 1451.' When she walked in Griphook sighed.

"Do you have your key?" He demanded, drawing a clawed finger through a large book that sat on his podium.

"Umm... Y-yes I do." Liliya went digging through her pocket and drew a key that Dumbledore had given her. "Here we are." The goblin nodded and took the key, hopping down and leading her to the backroom, which revealed a mine cart. Liliya's breath shortened when Griphook got into it, gesturing for her to do the same. She screamed the whole way down to her vault before getting out, slightly dizzy.

"Vault 651." The goblin pressed the key into the small lock and the door swung open. Piles of gold stood before Liliya. She sighed and shook her head muttering 'showoff' and wishing her mother could hear her before taking some into her coin purse and getting back in the trolley. She nearly threw up when they were back at the top, in fact, she was sure she had at one point along the way. Liliya headed out the door and looked down at the list Dumbledore had given her.

1 Standard Book of Spells Volume 6

1 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

1 Depressing the Dark Arts

1 The Art of Transfiguration

1 A History of Magic Volume 6

1 Potions and Remedies to Make the Dead Spin

1 A Guide to Muggles

Liliya lifted a brow at the last one but shook it off, confirming that it was her Muggle Studies book. She headed to Madame Malkin's to get her robes first.