~ Lillian Aurora Hale ~

~ Prologue ~

~ December 28th, 1981 ~

Snowflakes were falling heavily at Godric's Hollow. Many residents living there stayed put inside to avoid the chilly wind outside. But only one could face the chilly wind outside, and he wasn't a resident of Godric's Hollow.

Freshly made footprints on the thick snow led to a tall man with pale skin, black eyes, shoulder-length and greasy black hair, and a hooked nose. Wearing his usual black clothing, he was also wearing a thick black scarf and a pair of fingerless gloves.

Severus Snape, aged 21 and former Death Eater, was in Godric's Hollow's graveyard looking for a particular tombstone. At last, he found the tombstone he was looking for.

Ignoring the engraved name of his school foe on the white marble tombstone, his black eyes stared at her name.

Lily Potter, born 30 January 1960,
died 31 October 1981
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Looking down at the name of his childhood friend and his love on the tombstone was heart-breaking. He lost her for nearly two months now, and he still continued to grieve his heart out for her.

'I-I'm so sorry, Lily,' he choked, 'I-I've shouldn't called you that word … I've swear to protect your son no matter what … P-Please, Lily, forgive me … if you can hear me.'

His legs gave way as his knees hit onto the snow. A tear came rolling down and dripped at the end of his hooked nose.

Then he heard a new sound. It wasn't the howling wind. It was the sound of crunching on the snow. Someone or something was running and coming closer.

Without hesitation, he pulled out his Ebony and Dragon heartstring wand from the inside of his sleeve. He was ready to cast a spell. Then at a fair distance away, he spotted a small figure of a girl.

He lowered his wand seeing the girl was no harm to him. She was running pretty fast, and she didn't take any notices of him.

The girl looked no more than ten or eleven years old. She wore black skinny-jeans, a royal-blue woolly sweater and a black velvet cloak. She had long, wavy red hair and – The colour of the girl's eyes was vivid emerald-green.

Severus Snape gasped, 'L-Lily.' It was like seeing Lily all over again – A replica of the youthful ten year old Lily Evans.

The girl's eyes were exactly the same colour as Lily's, but wasn't almond-shape. The girl's eyes were an upturned-shape, and her long and wavy hair was the colour of light strawberry-red.

She slid into a halt. In front of her was a glossy black tombstone. It was brand new than the Potters' white marble tombstone.

'M-Mum,' said the girl in a trembling voice, 'I couldn't cry in front of everybody … plus dad, but he understands how I felt … All I want to say is … thank you for being my mum and my mentor. I-I'm … GOING TO MISS YOU!'

Then she collapsed onto her knees and started crying. Her lament wailing was louder than the howling wind.

Severus Snape just watched the weeping girl as something magically was appearing in the graveyard.

Sprouting up through the thick snow on every graves, old and new, were brightly-green stems of a flower. Reaching up to a metre, the flowers' buds started opening up its petals into full bloom.

Severus Snape turned back to the Potters' final resting-place. He stared, gobsmacked.

The Potters' graves were bedded with blooming flowers – lively and beautiful green, red and white lilies. All the other graves were bedded with lilies too.

Severus Snape turned his attention to the weeping girl. He cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself. He was, now, invisible. He took one last look of the final resting-place of Lily and walked towards the weeping girl until he stopped two metres behind her.

The glossy black tombstone read.

In loving memory of

Aurora Hale, born 15 May 1952,

died 25 December 1981

So the girl's mother died a few days ago – on Christmas Day.

'Lillian!'

Severus Snape flinched a little as the weeping girl jumped onto her feet and spun her heels.

'D-Dad,' whimpered the girl as she quickly wiped the tears away.

Severus Snape kept his distance and watched the girl's father walking towards her.

The father looked to be in his thirties. He had short, light strawberry-red hair and a small beard, and tired emerald-green eyes. A wand was gripping tightly in his hand.

'I have been looking everywhere for you, Lillian!' said the father very worry. 'You know that it's not safe outside – especially at this time of the year! What if someone kidnap you or worse?'

Both father and daughter didn't know of another's presence near them.

'Who would kidnap me, dad? The Death Eaters are locked up in Azkaban and Voldemort is gone.'

'LILLIAN AURORA HALE!' yelled the father. 'DON'T SAY HIS NAME!'

Lillian turned away as more tears came leaking out. The father bent down and wrapped his arms around his trembling daughter.

'I'm sorry, Lillian – I shouldn't have shouted at you. But you shouldn't have been wandering out … side …'

The father was lost for words. His tired emerald-green eyes looked at the blooming lilies on his late wife's grave and on the other graves.

'Did you make the lilies grow on the graves, Lillian?'

'I-I-I couldn't help it, dad!' sobbed Lillian. 'It was an accident! A-Are you mad with me?'

The father wasn't mad. He just smiled at his daughter as he wiped the tears away with his thumb.

'It is okay, Lillian. You have just performed an accidental magic – all children at your age does it too. It happens when they're feeling angry, scared, confused and sad. You will be in Hogwarts next year. You'll have many adventures, learn new spells, and meet teachers and make friends at Hogwarts.'

'That's why I'm worry about, dad – Hogwarts.' said Lillian. 'You were in Gryffindor, and mum was in Slytherin. What if I'm put in Slytherin and they don't accept me because … I'm a Half-blood?'

The father just stared as he tucked a strand of Lillian's strawberry-red hair behind her ear.

'Let me tell you something, Lillian. I was scared too, when I was at Hogwarts for the first-time. For being a Muggle-born wizard in a family of Muggles, it wasn't straightforward. But I made some friends and met your mother at Hogwarts. About a month before you were born, I've found out that one of my Muggle cousins attended to Hogwarts in 1971. And like me, she was sorted into Gryffindor. If you were sorted into Slytherin like your mother, then Slytherin House will have gained a gifted young witch.'

'Thanks, dad,' said Lillian, smiling weakly.

She reached her fingers to the lilies on her mother's grave and plucked a beautiful white lily. Twirling the handpicked lily, her mind was on something else.

'I really miss them, Lily, James and Harry.'

The black eyes belonging of Severus Snape had widened.

'I know, Lillian,' said the father, petting her head. 'Lily and James were there for you. And when Harry was born, you were like a big sister to him.'

Lillian nodded, without taking her eyes off the handpicked white lily.

'I will not forget Harry, his cheeky smile and his bright green eyes. On that day when Lily and I first met, she was pregnant at the time. It was a bit a shock for us both. It was like we were seeing ourselves. She told me that I look just like herself as a girl. And looking at her, it was like looking at me from the future.'

'Did you see yourself carrying a future grandchild of mine, Lillian?'

The handpicked white lily slipped from Lillian's fingers and landed by her boots. She was staring up at her father with an utmost repulse look on her face.

'Just because Lily was pregnant at the time, dad, it doesn't mean I'll get myself pregnant in to the future! I just hope that my … special someone doesn't turnout like hers. When I first met James, he was a bit of an attention-seeker. When he was transforming into a stag to show-off his antlers, I whispered something to Lily, and then she started laughing. James wanted to know what Lily was laughing about, but she kept it a secret from him.'

'What did you whisper to Lily about James, Lillian?'

'I asked Lily if James' antlers drop from his head all of a sudden, I could take the antlers home, hammer them onto a wall and use them as a trophy display or hanging up cloaks.'

Both father and daughter laughed. The invisible Severus Snape let out a small, rare chuckle.

Lillian stopped laughing and spun around.

'Did you hear that, dad?' She answered frowning as she took small steps straight ahead. Unknown to her, she was only a foot closer to Severus Snape. He kept still.

'You probably heard Lily laughing in her grave,' replied the father, wiping a tear away.

'It didn't sound like Lily, dad. It was the sound like a man's chuckle I heard.'

'Or you must have heard James laughing in his grave, Lillian. After all, you spilled the beans about his antlers.'

Lillian rolled her eyes at her father as a chill in the wind made she shiver. She wrapped her black cloak around her small figure. She let out a loud sneeze.

'Bless you.'

'Thanks dad,' replied Lillian, sniffing her nose.

'Let's get back to the house, Lillian, and I'll whip-up some hot chocolate with peppermint.'

Lillian and the father walked away as they passed the graveyard's gate and disappeared out of sight.

Once they were gone, Severus Snape flicked his wand and he re-emerged. He turned to Aurora Hale's final resting-place and the bedded lilies. He bent down and picked up the white lily that Lillian had dropped. It had a nice aroma.

Then something large and silver appeared out of thin air in front of him. An elegant and brightly Patronus of a Phoenix landed on the glossy black headstone. Then the Patronus's beak opened and it spoke in a calm voice of Professor Dumbledore.

'You're selected as the new Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House. You'll be starting your post after the holidays. See you soon, Professor Severus Snape.'