Lilith took her seat at the Gryffindor table soundlessly, not daring to look up from the plate in front of her. The spot was at the very end and even though Harry and Ron waved her over, she couldn't face the company of others at that moment.
The feeling of disappointment hung over her head and remained there as Dumbledore said, "Let the feast...begin." Food magically appeared on the table and the hall filled with gasps of awe, chattering soon followed.
A brown haired boy, Seamus, suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence,"I'm half and half. Me dad's a Muggle. Mam's a witch. Bit of a nasty shock for him when he found out."
Another boy laughed, his name was Neville. Lilith couldn't find it in her to even chuckle at the joke. Instead, she was met with a ginger who's face was stuffed with food. Ron. He waved her over again and this time, she took a second to think it over. She then grabbed her plate and went to join him.
"Everything alright, Lily?"
This came from Harry, who sat next to Percy, another Weasley. She gave a small nod, adding a forced smile to make it more believable. He didn't push further and rather turned to the boy next to him. "Say, Percy, who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?"
"Oh, that's Professor Snape, head of Slytherin house."
Harry's cheeks flushed a deep shade of red as he faced Lilith. "Your father?" He asked.
Lilith took a sip from her goblet, "Mhm."
"What's he teach?" Another question from Harry.
This time, Percy answered again, "Potions. But everyone knows it's the Dark Arts he fancies. He's been after Quirrells job for years." This earned him a look from Lilith, but she stayed quiet nonetheless. She knew it was true.
Ron, having just finished a chicken wing, reached into the bowl for more, and a ghostly head, Sir Nicholas, popped out. The boy gave a frighten yelp and the ghost grinned broadly.
"Hello! How are you? Welcome to Gryffindor."
Just then, numerous ghosts came pouring from the walls, sailing along. Percy turned to the one at their table. "Hello, Sir Nicholas. Have a nice summer?"
"Dismal. Once again, my request to join the headless hunt has been denied," He says, his tone layered with disappointment as he began to leave.
"Hey, I know you! You're Nearly Headless Nick," exclaimed Ron.
"I prefer Sir Nicholas if you don't mind."
Hermione then asked, "Nearly headless? How can you be nearly headless?"
The ghost looked at her, as if offended by the question and said, "Like this." He grabbed his head and pulled it to the side. It was hanging on just by a thread. Lilith pulled a face, both Ron and Hermione disgusted by what just happened as well.
After dinner, Percy led the children to the staircases, "Gryffindors, follow me please. Keep up. Thank you."
Around them, the other houses were pushing past each other, making their way to the other dormitories.
Percy spoke up again and Lilith could tell by the tone of his voice why he'd been chosen as a Prefect.
"This is the most direct path to the dormitories. Oh, and keep an eye on the staircases...they like to change."
The young witch follwed everyone else's glances and panned up, seeing the vast amount of staircases. People walked on them and some of them even switched places.
"Keep up, please, and follow me. Quickly now, come on. Come on," Percy said as they all began walking up the stairs.
Upon approaching the Gryffindor dorms, the group stopped in front of a large painting of a large woman in a pink dress.
"Password?" The painting asked.
"Caput Draconis."
The woman nodded and the painting opened up to reveal a gape in the wall.
"Follow me, everyone. Keep up, quickly, come on."
A few of the students gasped in awe, amusement clear on the first years' faces.
Once everyone was inside the common room, Percy took in the size of the group before saying, "Gather 'round here. Welcome to the Gryffindor Common Room. Boys' dormitories, upstairs and down to your left. Girls, the same on your right. You'll find that your belongings have already been brought up."
Lilith made her way up the stairs and as she turned to her right, she was met with a room filled with different hues of red and gold. She pulled a face at the choice of decor, but in reality, it was about the fact that she wasn't in the Slytherin common room right now. She had ought to be in a dormitory that had green and silver sploshed over the walls, not— this. She had ought to be sorted into Slytherin, not—
"Looks like we're roommates, huh?"
The question was follwed by a nervous laugh coming from Hermione. Lilith shifted her gaze to the girl, her expression unreadable for a moment or two. She made her way to her bed and gathered her things, not glancing back as she breathed out, "Lucky us."
Lilith found herself restless in the hours leading up to midnight. She rolled around, trying out one side before seeing if the other one had gotten any more comfortable in the process. At some point, she even sat at the window, staring down at the grounds as if they'd be torn away from her at any given second. She should have been happy that she got the chance to study at Hogwarts, grateful, but the little girl couldn't think about anything other than how she was going to face her father the next morning.
The next morning Hermione didn't allow any of her roommates to be late on their very first day. She woke Lilith first, giving her a chance to shower before any of the other girls had awoken. The other girls being Fay Dunbar, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. None of whom Lilith would ever be associated with, apart from the fact that they were roommates. Once she was finished, she waited for the brunette, gathering her books. Hermione soon came out and the two made their way to their fist class. Transfiguration.
As suspected, the pair was early. Hermione had opened her book to read through whatever it was they were going to do that lesson and Lilith— Well, Lilith only sat and stared down at her robe. The crest on her robe, more specifically. The Gryffindor patch.
Soon, the class stared, snapping her out of her thoughts. McGonagall was explaining the basics of Transfiguration when she decided to shift into a cat form to give them a more visual presentation. The tabby cat sat, quite gracefully, on a desk when Harry and Ron came running through the stone halls and barged into the class.
"Whew, amazing, can you imagine the look on old McGonagall's face if we were late?" Ron gave a sigh of relief, looking around the classroom.
The cat then jumped off the desk and turned back into Professor McGonagall. The two boys has amused expressions on their faces, the other students quietly laughing to themselves.
"That was bloody brilliant," the ginger exclaimed.
McGonagall had an unimpressed look on her face, rather taken aback at his reaction. "Thank you for that assessment, Mr. Weasley. Maybe if I were to transfigure Mr. Potter and yourself into a pocketwatch, maybe one of you would be on time."
To this, Harry said, "We got lost."
"Then perhaps a map? I trust you don't need one to find your seats," The professor said, waving in the direction of the class.
The next class was Potions. With Professor Snape. Otherwise known as Lilith's father. She was nervous, there was no way of hiding it. Especially when she was as pale as death, and greatly agitated, too.
When the students arrived, the classroom was empty. No sign of Snape. So, they made their way inside and took their seats. They were chattering amongst themselves, sitting near the steaming cauldrons, as the door slammed open. Snape came rushing in. To Lilith's surprise, he did not do so much as to glance in her direction. "There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don't expect many of you to enjoy the subtle science and exact art that is potion making. However, for those select few," he drawled and looked at the blonde boy, who Lilith met earlier and came to know as Draco, with a smile, "who possess the predisposition, I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory and even put a stopper in death." Jealousy overcame the young girl and she couldn't help but jeer, "pet." It was almost inaudible, but still earned a chuckle from Hermione, who sat next to her.
Snape looked around the room and saw Harry who was busy making notes, "Then again, maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confidant enough to not...pay...attention."
Hermione gave Harry a nudge in the ribs, causing him to look up.
"Mr. Potter. Our...new...celebrity. Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
Hermione's hand skyrocketed into the air. Lilith knew the answer, as well, yet her hand stayed pressed against the table. Her father wouldn't have let her go to Hogwarts without teaching her common knowledge first. Harry shrugged, though, not knowing the answer.
"You don't know? Well, let's try again. Where, Mr. Potter, would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?"
Once again, Hermione raised her hand as a clueless Harry said, "I don't know, Sir."
"And what is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfbane?"
"I don't know, Sir."
"Pity. Clearly, fame isn't everything, is it, Mr. Potter?" Snape asked sarcastically and turned, making his way back to the front of the classroom.
Lilith fought the urge to stand up for the poor boy, not sure of what her father would snap back at her. Instead, her hand went up. Snape had his back towards the class while he scribbled something down on the board.
"Get out your books," he said, turning around. He completely ignored Lilith, not even looking in her direction. She did not lower her hand, not even when her cheeks turned a dark shade of red as result of the embarrassment.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.
"I need to use the bathroom," Lilith replied in a hushed tone.
Hermione's hand shot up into the air and this time, she did not wait for the Professor to call on her. "Sir, Lilith asks to be excused to the bathroom."
Snape simply waved his hand in their direction in dismissal, too busy studying the book in front of his students on the Slytherin side.
Lilith got up, threw her books and quills into her bag and left the classroom in a hurry. Once she was out of earshot, a soft sob erupted from the girl. She clasped her hand over her mouth and stood against the wall for a few moments, allowing the warm tears to roll over her cheeks. After a minute or two, maybe three, she wiped her face and took a deep breath. It hadn't been her fault she wasn't sorted into Slytherin. But, maybe it was. Or maybe, it was her father's fault. Maybe Severus had raised her the wrong way, or the right way, depending on how you'd look at it. Nonetheless, the fact remained that Lilith refused to feel bad over something so—
"Oi, aren't you Snape's kid?"
Lilith spun around and was met with two pairs of identical brown eyes and red hair. "What's it to you?"
"Shouldn't you be in class?" The one asked. Fred.
"Shouldn't you two be blowing up a toilet or something?" She snapped, remembering all the times her father had exaggerated over the extent of how far the Weasley twins would actually go one day.
"Feisty, aren't we?" George chuckled, his expression holding amusement.
"Got a problem with that?"
"Not at all."