Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter One: Birthday

Professor Severus Snape was awake before the sun rose one Tuesday morning. Today was a special day, and it was one that he could never forget. Today was his daughter's birthday.

Stepping out into the hall, he made sure not to step on any of the loose floorboards. The last thing he wanted to do was wake her up. He had, in his hurry to prepare for his upcoming teacher-ship at Hogwarts, put off buying his little girl a present.

And now, on the very day she turned 11 years old, he needed to make a run to Diagon Alley to purchase her a gift. True, he could use the muggle site called Amazon, but he wanted to get her something magical. Perhaps he'd get her a potions set, it would give her an edge in his class….then again, he might be accused of showing favoritism by getting her such a gift before school started.

Making a bee-line for his fireplace, where a pot of Floo Powder sat waiting to be used. Picking up a handful, he stepped into the chimney, and thought of the place he wanted to go. Then, pronouncing his words very clearly, he shouted the location he wanted to go.

"Diagon Alley!"

Ollivia "Ollie" Snape woke from her slumber with a start. A loud shout, followed by what sounded by a little explosion, had jolted her from a very lovely dream. Blinking, she rubbed her tired eyes and yawned.

"What in blazes was that?" She asked no one in particular. Stretching, she ran a hand through her unruly, tangled red hair. It was so very long, and before Ollie started school this year, she badly wanted to get it cut. Of course, her father would be against her doing that.

He'd often told her how her long hair reminded him of her mother. And that was all well and good - but Ollie wanted to look like herself, not her mother. It wasn't that she had anything against the genes she was given, just long hair. It often got tangled when she slept, and was extremely hard to comb down.

After bringing her hand out of her tangled hair, Ollie sighed and sat up. Glancing out her window, she saw that the sun was just barely coloring the sky with light. Stretching, she decided that she might as well get up. She needed to get her hair brushed out anyway.

Stepping out onto the cold, hard wooden floor, a shiver went up her spine. But it wasn't the floor that had made her shiver. With a gasp, she grasped for her left shoulder, feeling a quick and intense burning sensation.

Then, as suddenly as it had come, it disappeared. Strangely enough, as the feeling left, she heard a disturbance outside. Going to her window, she peered out just in time to see a fat man dragging his family towards a small car.

It was a small family, consisting of a man, woman, and two boys. But the two boys couldn't have been more different, one being as thin as a rail, and the other being as large as tree trunk. Blinking, she stared at the thin boy, who looked vaguely familiar.

He turned, and looked towards her window, then, and she saw his face. He had black, rumpled hair, stunning blue eyes, a pair of battered glasses, and a barely perceptible scar on his forehead.

Ollie couldn't help but stare at the boy, she could have sworn that they'd seen one another somewhere before. Neither of them looked away from one another, and for a moment, she was sure she heard his voice in her head.

Who are you?

Before Ollie could try and answer the question, a hand on her shoulder made her jump. This broke their eye contact, and the strange connection that they had with one another. For now.

"Olive?" Snape's clear and concise voice asked. Ollie glanced over at her father, and then back at the boy outside. He was being pulled towards the car, and was no longer looking her way. "Is there something the matter?"

"No," Ollie lied, turning now to look at him. "Nothing's the matter. I was just - watching the sun rise."

"It is a beautiful sight," Snape said, glancing out the window. Ollie nodded, feeling a stab of guilt at lying to him. But what else was she to tell him, 'I saw a boy outside my window, and we had some strange connection'? No, that wouldn't have done at all. This lie would have to do, at least until she figured out the mystery behind that boy.

Harry Potter, as he was being stuffed into his uncle's car, couldn't help but wonder who that girl in the window was. He'd caught her staring at him, and when their eyes met, he felt a connection between them.

For some reason or another, he felt like they'd met somewhere before. When or where that was, however, he had no clue.

But whoever she was and whatever connection they had was now broken. The girl had broken eye contact, and Uncle Vernon had towed Harry away into the car. Now, Harry was squished between his family's luggage and his cousin Dudley. And all hope of seeing the girl again seemed gone.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, and I hope it wasn't too short. But if it was too short, than do not fear, chapter two should be a bit longer.