mourning in the confines of your room by yourself.
reminded by the bulk of every memoir by yourself.
clearing out your strange spaces all by yourself.
remembering the way it always was by yourself.

August 31st 10AM Wednesday

Get out of my way, please move, I screamed in my head as I ran down the hallway. I wanted to say it aloud but I had both hands clamped tightly over my mouth. The students in the hallway stared at me in shock as I ran past them headed for the bathroom.

When I reached the door I pushed a girl out of the way who had been heading in the same direction. I wanted to apologize but I had no time as I crumpled down in front of the toilet and began retching like my life depended on it.

The girl stood in the doorway and watched me until I finished. "Sorry," I mumbled as I slumped onto the floor. She didn't say anything in return; instead she walked over and helped me to stand.

"Are you okay?" she asked with concern. I nodded my head and stumbled over to the sink.

After washing my mouth out thoroughly I turned around to thank the girl. She was tall with short brown hair and blue eyes. A Hogwarts patch was displayed proudly on her robes along with a small silver badge.

"Thanks for your help," I said as I extended my right hand towards her, "Jenny Riddle."

"Beth Matheson," she replied as she shook my hand, "and it was no problem."

"You're headgirl this year, right?" I asked, glancing at the small silver badge near her collar. She blushed slightly and nodded her head. "Congratulations," I added.

"Thanks," she said with a proud smile, "First Slytherin headgirl in years."

"Wow!" I exclaimed, "Well, it's truly an honor to meet you." She went to leave but stopped in the doorway and turned around to look at me.

"Would you like some help getting back to your compartment?" she questioned. I shook my head and began to walk toward her, stumbling a bit as I went. She quickly walked over to stand beside me. "I think you could use the help," she stated and then put an arm around my waist to steady me.

"Thanks," I replied sheepishly. We began to walk back down the hallway and we were halfway to our destination when I began to feel nauseous once again. Beth seemed to notice immediately and she quickly pulled me over to a compartment that was closer. I plopped down onto the padded seat and bent over to put my head between my knees without even looking to see who else was in the room.

"Motion sickness?" Beth asked as she gently rubbed my back. I nodded my head slightly and willed the sick feeling in my stomach to go away.

After a few tense moments, the dizziness began to fade and I sat up to look around. There were two boys and a girl sitting across from me. They all appeared to be around the same age. Beth remained seated next to me along with another girl who appeared to be slightly younger then the rest of the group. I wasn't surprised when I noticed that they were all Slytherins.

"Hello," I said nervously. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Well," Beth cleared her throat, "I'd like to introduce you all to Jenny Riddle." The teens stared at me in awe and it didn't take me long to understand why. It had to be that stupid Daily Prophet article.

"Jenny," said Beth, "I'd like you to meet my friends." She pointed to the blonde haired girl sitting next to her, "Melissa Zabini," she stated and then pointed to the blonde haired boy sitting nearest the door, "Edric Malfoy," my eyes widened in surprise. Beth continued on, pointing at the black haired boy sitting next to Edric, "Fordon Dant, and that's," she pointed to the brown haired girl sitting next to Fordon, "Aubrianna Parkinson."

"Pleasure to meet you," I replied as I looked around at the group, my eyes stopped on Edric Malfoy and I couldn't help but stare. "Are you related to Draco Malfoy?" I asked. He appeared nervous for a moment before adopting an emotionless mask.

"No," he stated firmly, "Draco is no Malfoy." I was confused for a moment until I remembered that Draco had been disowned.

"Well," I said, giving him a threatening glare, "Were you related to Draco when he was a Malfoy?"

"He was my cousin," he replied. No one spoke until Aubrianna finally broke the silence.

"Are you really related to the Dark Lord?" Aubrianna asked rudely. We all stared at her in shock, each and every jaw dropping toward the ground. "What?" she asked in confusion, "It was just a question. We all read the Daily Prophet article; I was just wondering if it was true."

All eyes turned toward me and I attempted to think of an answer that wouldn't be a total lie. There was no way in hell I could tell them the truth but I didn't want to lie either. Damn Gryffindor blood.

"I have no idea?" I replied with a shrug. My answer was true for the most part. After all, everyone's related if you go far enough back. And anyway, what else could I say? No kids, I'm not related to the late Dark Lord, I'm related to Harry Potter. You know him, he was the boy-who-lived, savior of the wizarding world.

"So," Beth said nervously, "why are you going to Hogwarts?" Think fast Jenny, I thought to myself.

"Dumbledore invited me," I replied. They stared at me suspiciously so I quickly added, "Plus, I'm good friends with Severus Snape." At the mention of their Head of House they all gave me semi-warm smiles and I wondered briefly if Slytherins were conditioned to never smile.

"That's who you're sharing a cabin with then?" asked Fordon.

"Yep," I replied.

"Why don't you ask him for a potion for your motion sickness?" Beth offered. I thought about it for a moment and then shook my head.

"I don't want to bother him," I said with a frown, "he can be incredibly cranky." All of the children chuckled at my comment. "Why don't you guys tell me about Hogwarts?" I said hopefully, "I'd love to hear about it from a student's perspective. The only people I've spoken to about it are all former students."

"What do you want to know?" Melissa asked.

"I don't know," I said with a shrug, "What do you like best about Hogwarts?" They all seemed to think about my question for a moment before answering.

"Quidditch," replied Fordon.

"The great food," Melissa said with a smile and all of the students nodded in agreement.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts class," Beth replied hesitantly. Edric glared at her for a moment but said nothing.

"Potions," Edric answered with a patented Malfoy smirk.

"The Yule Ball," Aubrianna said with a sigh while the rest of the teens groaned in unison. "What?" she asked defensively, "I like dressing up for the Yule Ball. Excuse me for being sophisticated." She folded her arms across her chest and leaned back with a huff.

A simple question about what the Slytherins like about Hogwarts seemed to open a floodgate of conversation. I sat there in the midst of it and heard all of the gossip from who was dating who to the funniest pranks pulled on the Gryffindors. I felt a little guilty hearing about how many times they had put things over on the brave and noble Gryffindors, but not guilty enough to keep from laughing along with them.

After a couple hours passed the compartment door slid open and I found myself staring up at a very angry Snape. The Slytherin students shifted nervously while they stared at the floor, none of them having the guts to look up at him. I gave him a small wave and a shaky smile, "Hi Sev." His eyes narrowed dangerously and I knew I was in trouble. Luckily Beth jumped in to help me once again.

"Hello Professor Snape," she greeted him as cheerfully as she could, "Jenny was feeling slightly ill and didn't think she could make it back so I thought it would be best if she rested here until she felt better." His expression softened slightly as we all stared at him waiting for his reaction.

"Good job Miss Matheson," he replied to everyone's surprise, "5 points to Slytherin." Beth smiled proudly while the rest of the students stared at Severus in complete shock. Fordon looked as if he was about to faint.

Severus' good mood didn't last long though as he turned to glare at me furiously. It seemed right that he would be Head of House for Slytherin because at the moment he reminded me of a deadly cobra preparing to strike. I fought the urge to throw my hands up and beg for mercy. Instead I gave him a big smile which seemed to infuriate him further.

"Don't you ever leave without telling me where you're going," he said in a cool, quiet tone, "Are you feeling better?" I nodded my head. "Good," he snapped, "then follow me." He turned on his heel and stalked out.

I gave my new friends a weak smile and they all waved in response. No one dared to speak. I swiftly walked out of the compartment and headed after Severus. With his long strides I could barely keep up with him.

"You know," I said as we reached our door, "I was just having a chat with some of your students, it's no big deal." Severus growled at me and pushed me through the doorway. I sat down in one of the seats and tried not to look too intimidated by his actions.

It was hard not to be intimidated of him after he slid the door closed so swiftly that he broke the glass. Without a hint of embarrassment on his part he did a quick spell and the door was as good as new. He closed it and locked it and then turned to face me once again.

"What were you thinking?" he asked as he paced back in forth in the small cabin, "Are you mad? Those were Slytherin students you were speaking to."

"So what?" I asked in confusion, "I was just talking to them. They seemed nice enough."

"They are good kids," Severus said with a sigh. He slumped down into the seat across from me. "That's why I don't want you talking to them."

"Why?" I questioned, now more puzzled then ever, "Just because they're Slytherins?" I couldn't understand why Severus didn't want me talking to students from his own house.

"No," he replied, "because of who you are."

"What do you mean, who I am? No one here knows who I am," I stated.

"That's the point," he explained, "Your identity won't stay secret forever. What do you think will happen when everyone finds out who you really are?"

"I don't know," I replied with a shrug, "Harry Potter was famous, I suppose they might be in a little bit of awe once they find out."

"Yes," he said with a nod, "three-fourths of the school will no doubt worship the ground you walk on."

"Three-fourths? Are you trying to tell me that those Slytherins I just met aren't going to like me once they find out who my father was?" I asked.

"No," he explained, "They're going to hate you once they find out who your father was."

"Why?" I asked, "I didn't do anything and my father was just doing what he had to do. He did the right thing…right?" Severus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It's not that simple," he said and then attempted to explain. "You hate Dumbledore correct," I nodded my head, "Why do you hate him?"

"He ruined my father's life," I stated through clench teeth, "I'll never forgive him."

"Is that truly the reason you hate him Jenny?" I thought about his question for a moment before shaking my head and staring down at the floor.

"No," I replied softly, "I think…I think it's because I feel like he ruined my life."

"Exactly," Severus stated, "All the good things Dumbledore has done in his life don't mean anything to you because you are only thinking of how your life was affected by his actions. So I ask you, how do you think those students feel about your father?"

"They hate him," I said as I looked up to meet the potion master's eyes, "He ruined their lives didn't he?" Severus could only nod. "What do you think I should do?" I asked miserably.

"Is there anything Dumbledore could do to make up for what he did to your father?" he questioned.

"No," I replied, "I'll always hate him for what he did. I don't care if he apologized a million times over, I'd still hate him."

"So, what do you think will happen when those Slytherin students find out who you are?" I stared out the window as I replied.

"They'll hate me," I said sadly, "They already hate me and they don't even know it yet."