Lydia sat underneath her favorite Oak tree, absently stroking her viper as she accepted her third letter of the day. My ,but the Half Blood Prince was vocal today! That was quite unusual. He usually waited to send his letters one every few days.
"My Dearest Lydia...I had to write you again because I could no longer keep these thoughts and feelings inside."

The letter read, though the formalities ended there, replaced by vulgar, almost violent musings as well as horrible namecalling and rude little analogies. Her eyes widened considerably the further they traveled down the page. NO ONE had ever spoken to her like that, not evening a letter!
She felt her cheeks flush as these 'thoughts' became more and more apparent, more and more…vivid. People seemed to be noticing. James Potter and Sirius Black were strolling nearer, chuckling to themselves. They had probably just finished tormenting another Slytherin, she noted with a twinge of disgust. She glanced up briefly and crumpled the parchment in her clenched fist, rising swiftly to her feet.
"Got another Letter?" Potter asked, and he and Black exchanged significant looks. She glared at them and stalked forward. They seemed to know something about this...
They looked solemnly at her approach, expressions of utmost concern on their faces.

"All right, Halliwell?"
"What do you know about this!" She demanded, the viper around her neck hissing loudly, seeming to be an extension of her anger.
"About what?" they asked, eying her suspiciously.
She waved the letter in their faces, letting it flutter into Black's hands.
Black read it, eyes widening at the words, a look of realization on his face.
"you now something black. Spill or I spill something other than your words."
"No. I don't know anything about this except that must have been what he was writing, right James?" He turned his gaze to Potter, showing him the letter. She narrowed her eyes as James nodded solemnly, though he shook his head in disgust as he read the letter.
"I can't believe he'd write this, but this HAS to be it!"
"Who?" She hissed, her viper spitting and hissing with her.
"Snape," they answered together.
Her jaw dropped and she snatched the letter back, peering closely at the handwriting. It did indeed match his jagged writing. She had seen it many times in potions. She wondered vaguely why she had not recognized it before.
"I saw him put something in a green envelope, and he headed toward the owlery. This must have been what he was sending. He left for there with a terrible smirk on his face."
She shook with barely suppressed rage and turned on her heel, stalking towards the castle, leaving a stunned silence in her wake.
"Halliwell!" Sirius called, moving after her after winking at James.
"What do you want, Black?" She demanded, not slowing.
"Are you all right?"
"Why the Bloody hell do you care?"
"I apologized for a reason, y'know."
"And that would be?"
He looked down, stopping a moment, hair falling in his eyes. She stopped, glancing back at him, surprised at how attractive he was with his hair in his eyes, though she shook that thought from her mind as soon as it formed. She had seen other girls fall for his ploys. She was not one of those empty headed little slags, no matter what people thought of her.
"Because. It was wrong what I did, though I can't say it was out of malice," he whispered, chancing a glance at her.
"Then why?" She asked, eyeing him curiously.
"Are you that dense?" he asked, half-joking, half serious. She glared, her snake baring it's fangs. She had enough to deal with at the moment, she didn't need this annoying, self involved, stuffed shirt, swaggering peacock to tell her she was dense.
"I didn't mean that, but think." He said hurridly, apparently sensing imminent danger.
"You broke my arm because you fancy me? Wonderful way of showing affection." She hissed, turning away again.

"I didn't mean to break your arm!" He called following. "Actually that wasn't meant for you!" He added desperately.
She didn't slow. "Oh really?" She asked coldly

"No! It was meant for Snivvlly! But it got to you! I didn't want that," he said, the last part spoken in a whisper.
She glanced back at him, "That didn't stop you from laughing." She said coldly. He looked stricken and mouthed wordlessly. She sighed, expression softening slightly. "And did you ever plan on saying anything coherent to me, or were you going to keep being sophomoric because I'm Slytherin?"
"I dunno what I was planning..." he muttered. "It's not a usual experience I have."
"That and you being in Slytherin doesn't help. "
She sniffed slightly, lifting her chin.

"A lot of good that does anyone." She said before striding away again.
"Well, all my family's been in Slytherin... except me... So it's odd," he said, a slight coloring to his face.
"yes. I know a lot of them." She said softly as she made her way to the owlery. "But you'd think that would make you more accustomed to us."
"He's left there," Sirius said quickly as he saw where she was heading. He didn't want his cover blown by her finding Snivvely.
"well where is he?" She demanded, rounding on him, her viper hissing loudly again.
"I don't know. Probably back to the common room."
She stopped and leaned against the wall, muttering soothing words to her snake, trying to calm it as much as she was trying to calm herself. He moved closer a look of sympathy on his handsome face.

"That letter was horrible." He said earnestly.
She covered her face with her hand, choosing not to reply. to acknowledge that would mean she gave a damn about the letters in the first place. Why, after so many years was she so desperate for companionship. How did she know it was such a big deal anyway?
"I'm sorry," he whispered, his grey eyes sympathetic, placing a hand on her shoulder.
She shook jerked away from him as if burned. She hated being touched.

"Don't touch me." She hissed, turning her back to him.
He backed off. "Just want to help, Lydia." He said, and she started in spite of herself. He had never used her first name before…
"That's what they all say." She said, her voice barely audible.
"But I'm serious."
She glared at him, too tired to bother laughing at his pun. She sighed.

"I'll see you round Black. I have something that needs to be taken care of."
"See you round then. I hope." He said, offering a careful smile in her direction, one she did not return, much less acknowledge.
She gave a small wave and ran a hand through her hair. She had to find snape...or maybe she should let her friend from the chamber of secrets do that...

Snape's eyes flashed open, though instantly he wished he'd kept them closed. His head was pounding and his stomach churned horribly.
The owlery was growing dark and voices below were floating up to the tower where he lay, talking excitedly of the scene on the grounds.

"Did you hear? Haliwell found out who's been sending those letters, and the last one was horrible! I reckon she'll be expelled any day now for murder!" They laughed.
Again his eyes opened, slower this time, to get his head to stop pounding.
The owls all hooted softly as they prepared for their evening flight. Lydia would be looking for him right now. She'd be out for blood.
Carefully, fighting the nausea that he was feeling, not only from being stunned, and temporarily petrified for the millionth time, but also from what he realized had happened already, he sat up, sighing in disgust as he realized he had owl droppings all over his clothing.
A few owls swooped past, and it seemed they were laughing at him as he left. He left the Owlery horridly, hoping to sneak unnoticed back to the Slytherin Common Room and disappear into the boy's dormitory. Unfortunately however, Dinner had probably just finished, because the hallway was packed with students milling around before curfew. People gave him stares and some laughed outright as he passed, pointing at the state of his usually immaculate robes. He kept his head down, hair covering the redness of his face, the embarrassment he felt. Damn it all that he couldn't obliviate ALL their bloody brains to goo.
It was along the third floor corridor when he finally spotted the familiar wisp of a girl. She was heading into moaning Myrtle's bathroom, her expression dark.
He followed carefully, not sure whether he wanted to get close or not, but unable to stop himself nonetheless.
She was leaning over a sink, her long hair obscuring her porcelain skinned, pixie, face hissing and spitting in the strange sibilant tongue of snakes. He nodded absently.

"She's a parselmouth," he muttered to himself, remembering, brain throbbing tremendously.
The sink separated and opened, splitting in many places and folding back to form an elaborate opening, revealing a long dark tunnel, into which she calmly stepped.
He moved forward , a hand outstretched to stop her, his mouth open, though he could force no words from his throat, fearing something terrible would happen, though he stopped just at the edge of the drop.
There was an almost imperceptible whooshing noise coming from the darkened depths of the tunnel as she slid along the stone chute.
With a sigh, Snape followed, carefully waiting until the sounds left by the girl before him were gone.
He landed hard on his rump in a chamber where a round door adorned with wrought iron serpents with strangely incandescent crystal eyes stood ajar, opening into a cavernous room with pillars, carved with great, elaborate serpents entwined about their cool marble forms.
There was the sound of footsteps echoing wetly off the walls as Lydia strode towards the enormous statue of Salazaar Slytherin at the end of the chamber. Torches sprang to life as she walked and strange serpentine shadows flickered and danced, making the plethora of carved snakes seem almost alive. It was an eerie sight, and the expression of mingled rage and despair on the pale, dark haired girl's face did not make Severus Feel any better. Mostly because it was his fault she obviously felt so horrid.
He moved toward her cautiously, hoping he was being fairly quiet. She stopped at the base of the statue and called out again in Parseltongue. It sounded as if she were having some kind of fit. Instinctively he started forward, but froze as the statues mouth opened, something sinuous and poisonous green slithering from the new opening and moving towards Lydia with smooth, almost liquid, undulating moments.