Chapter 1: Clock Chimes One
"Do you think it will come today?" Ten year old Harry droned from the couch where he laid with his hand covering his face, the same spot he had occupied waiting for the mail since the first of June that summer.
"I don't know Hare. We'll just have to wait and see."
His mother looked with love at her son when suddenly an owl swooped down the family living room chimney.
"The mail's here Mama!"
"I hear calm down." With that the boys mother walked over to the perch set next to the opening of the chimney and took the letters out of the pouch of the owl and handed him a treat from the bag hanging off the perch.
"Mama?"
"Let's see here," the woman snickered at the frown of her son, "Bill, advertisement, bill, letter from Great Aunt Millicent, and what is this? Mr. Harry Snape…"
Suddenly Harry jumped up and tried to snatch the letter from his mother's hand, who swiftly lifted the letters in her hand above her head and out of the reach of her son.
"Not so fast Harry, get your sister."
With a grumble Harry went up the stairs to his room to fetch his sister, who was reading The History of Magic very contently until her brother burst into the room.
A few moments later two sets of footsteps were heard running down the hall and staircase back to the sitting room.
The mother looked at her daughter, seeing her oxfords on and knowing that she was ready to go get her school supplies at a moment's notice, and has probably gone through the same routine for most of the summer as her brother had his own.
"Mama can I see it?"
"Of course, why don't you two go read your letters and I'll floo Mrs. Weasley to see if they are going to get their supplies today as well."
She gave her kids the letters with their names scrawled across the front and they walked out of the room to the dining room, where they sat in their seats right next to each other and carefully broke the seal holding their future.
"This is so cool." Harry said as his fingers graced across the letter now open in front of him.
"Only a few more weeks." Harlow said with a dreamy look on her face.
Just then their mother walked into the room.
"Mrs. Weasley says the kids are ready when we are, Harlow why don't you go see if your father wants to come with us and meet us back at the chimney?
"I doubt he'll want to stop his work." Harlow said, happily walking to her Papa's study where he had been working on something or another for work.
Harlow raised her hand up and knocked three times quickly on her father's study door.
From somewhere inside her father's voice rang out, "Enter."
Harlow walked into the study and down the stairs to find her Papa sitting at the desk in the center or the room with a huge streak of some powder across his face and a multitude of other ingredients to his latest potion across his clothes.
"Papa our letters came."
A huge smile spread across her father's face when he looked up at her, "That's fantastic news. Well we'll have to go to Diagon Alley right away!"
"You mean you'll come?"
"Of course, how could I miss such an important event?"
"I don't know, I just figured you would want to keep working. What are you doing anyway?"
Harlow didn't recognize the ingredient list as any potions she knew of.
"It's a new version of the Skele-Gro potion that won't have that horrible taste. Students are refusing it after quidditch incidents because of it."
"Why not make it so it doesn't hurt?"
"Harlow, this potion re-grows bone, it's always going to hurt. The real question is why the taste is such a big deal to the students."
Harlow laughed a little, "I guess so. Though, if I'd known that rejecting it was an option when I have broom accidents I would say no too."
Snape rolled his eyes but a smile still played on his mouth.
"But Mama and Harry are probably waiting for us, we should go."
"Well we mustn't keep them waiting, Merlin knows what they'll get into."
With a laugh, Harlow pulls her father out of the room and through the house back into the sitting room.
When they arrive they see that Harry has abandoned the room.
"He went to get his shoes, Harlow go grab your cloak. We're going to meet the Weasleys there and have dinner with them later."
As Harlow left the room the two watched them go. Each had matching smiles on their faces. Then Lily turned to her husband.
"You look like hell, did you sleep last night?"
"I don't think so."
"You know Madame Pomfrey won't be upset if you don't get the potion done before school?"
"I know, I just don't want to disappoint her."
"Sev, you don't have to keep proving yourself to people."
"Lily."
"No, Severus Snape you should not continue to think that people can't give up the past.
Hell, if I couldn't do you think I would have married you?"
Snape looked down at the ground, to ashamed of his past to even explain how he felt about it.
"Sev." Lily's voice was shaky, knowing she had hit a soft spot, "What you did or did not do in your past is done. The person you are now makes up for any mistake you have ever made. No silly name you have ever called me can reduce the love I hold for you. And besides, who would ever be able to care for a child like the way you do for our's, especially Harlow. You're practically a god to her."
At that Snape smiled and laughed thinking about his daughter. He will always say that he loves both of his children equally, but to say that he has a soft spot for his daughter, especially when she gives him her best puppy-dog eyes, would be an understatement.
Upstairs the two children whispered back and forth to each other as they ran around to grab their jackets and bags.
"So you'll ask Mama to get an owl and we can both use it?"
"Yep, and you'll ask Papa for a cat and we'll trade off rooms?"
"Yeah. Ron told me last time I saw him that Mrs. Weasley was getting Percy his own owl, maybe we can ask then."
"His own owl, why can't he share?"
"Who knows, Percy's kind of a prat. Though, Ron told me that he was bragging about becoming prefect of Gryffindor. Wouldn't that be awful? He'll think we'll actually listen to him. That's if it's even true."
"Harry can I tell you something?"
"Duh."
"Twin swear you won't tell anyone, especially Mom and Dad."
Harry twisted his fingers into a double cross and then Harlow joined him nodded.
"I don't think I'm going to be in Gryffindor."
"What, are you crazy? Of course you'll be in Gryffindor."
"I don't know, I just, they weren't Gryffindors, what if I end up like them."
"Well, Ravenclaw wouldn't be that bad, but God forbid you're in Hufflepuff, Papa will never talk to you."
"I know. I just don't know whether that plays a factor. And since no one will tell us about the sorting, I just, I don't want Mama and Papa to be disappointed in me."
"Hare, when have they ever been disappointed in you?"
"I guess." Harlow's smile seemed to grow on her face as she realized how stupid she was being.
"Can I ask you something, as long as we're under the twin swear?"
"Sure." Her smile fell a little as she saw the look of concern on his face.
"Do you think I'm good enough to be on the quidditch team?"
Harlow started laughing at her brother's question, "Really, you can't ask that to Mama or Papa? But yes, you're already ten times faster on a broom than me, and James was a huge quidditch star."
"He was, I just don't know. I think I wanna play, not now, or course, but maybe in second or third year. And please, you play ten times better."
"Well I had to start early if I want to be the best beater Hogwarts has ever seen"
"Well, you will be, even if you have no friends cause we're all in Gryffindor."
"Oh please, we all know people like me more than you."
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
Then their mother called up the stairs that the Weasleys were waiting and they headed downstairs with their letters in hand and were in the living room ready to go.
"Took you long enough." Snape, magically cleaned up, said smiling at the excitement splayed across his children's faces.
One by one they went into the fireplace and were shot up. And one by one they landed in The Leaky Cauldron, where they were greeted by the family of redheads.
Shouts of 'Harry' and ''Low' came from the family as one by one they were hugged by each member, except the eldest child present.
Percival Weasley puffed out his chest, proud to display his shiny badge and said, "I hope you two will respect me being your future prefect more than the likes of my own family.
"Hello Professor." And he reached out to shake the older man's hand.
Snape, hand grasped in the student's hand, answered "Weasley."
Meanwhile, the younger set of twins exchanged a look, and Harlow felt a blush creep up her neck. The older set of twins noticed. They knew what it was about. The feminine twin had always been their best friend, their prank mate, and most trusted confidant. And the three of them had a weird kind of intuition, almost as if she was a triplet in the group. And from an early age they knew she did not follow the pattern of the rest of their family.
"I doubt it." Ginny said, after a pause filled with a giggle from the youngest brother.
They moved from shop to shop, buying the things they needed when they finally arrived at Magical Menagerie.
Harry pulled his mother off to the side a little and Harlow pulled on her father's robe.
"Mama," Harry started, he had not really prepared for this conversation, "as you know my birthday is soon."
"Yes I remember, it is also your sister's. We go through that awful day once a year." His mother's smile and sarcastic tone was hard to miss.
"Yes, well, I've decided what could be the best gift, and I think that it would be best if I got it now."
"Really," his mother started, hands finding her hips real quickly, "and what would that be?"
"An owl."
"An owl?"
"Yeah." The boy's voice has gone meek and cowardly
"Well… I think that's a fantastic idea. But we mustn't make your sister jealous. She should get something too."
"I think she has that covered." His voice comes almost in a laugh. And she turned to see her husband walking towards her with such a look of pleading on his face.
"That poor man, what torture she must have put him through." She laughs a little at the smirk of satisfaction on her daughter's face.
"I'm pretty sure she only had to make her puppy eyes."
"Probably."
Her husband looked down to the ground, "Lily,"
"What does she want?" She smiled and laughed as she said it.
"A cat."
"A cat? I would have pegged her for a toad person, you can experiment on it." She glanced at her daughter questionably.
"Nope, a cat."
"Ok, well Harry wants an owl so we might as well, huh Sev."
"I guess so."
The family headed into the store and looked around, Harlow headed right for the cats, while Harry headed towards the owls.
Looking at the long line of cages where cats of all ages were stretching and eating and playing with each other. Harlow smiled at a few of them before a small voice came from behind her.
"First year?"
Harlow spun towards the voice to where an older witch with a bright smile on her face.
"Yep me and my twin brother."
"Cats are good companions for first years, are you looking for a cat or kitten?"
Harlow looked at the witch, "Do you work here? I've never seen you before." Harlow loved to look in the windows to see the animals in the shop.
"I own this shop dear. Me and my twin, though a sister. I usually work in the back, I just had the feeling I needed to help someone here. So, cat or kitten?" The woman smiled even wider. Harlow did too.
"I think kitten."
The woman guided Harlow over to the end of the set of crates. She bent down towards the floor and Harlow followed close behind.
"This kitten was born just four days ago. Both her parents are gone, unfortunately. We had to separate her because she is so small and the others kept stepping on her. She needs a lot of love and support, do you think you can give that to her?"
Harlow looked at the kitten in front of her. She was black, her fur was patchy but the stark black pieces there were were bold.. Harlow couldn't see her eyes. But she remembered from her reading it would take nearly a week after birth for her to open her eyes. She had a scratch running down her head from ear to neck. The kitten was ugly, no one would deny.
But for some reason Harlow couldn't tear her eyes away from her.
But then a question came into her head, "how did you know I needed help?"
"I didn't, but you have a very peculiar scar pattern there, dear, that made me think…"
Harlow reached up to her face, where there were two identical streak marks from her eyes to her chin, faded from years of life but still bright white and stark against her olive skin.
Harlow went to ask a question before she was interrupted.
"Harlow?"
At the sound of her father's voice she startled, when she was able to compose herself she called back to him, "I'm back here Papa."
When he made his way back to where Harlow was standing he had a smile on his face,
"How's the search going? Anyone caught your fancy?"
"Yes Papa. This one." The old witch stood up.
At the sight of the witch's face Snape startled, "Oh, hello Evanora. What are you doing out of your office?"
"She was helping me find the perfect kitten, and I have." When Harlow pointed to the crate Snape bent down to look at the kitten, and his face softened immediately.
"Well she looks like she needs a lot of love."
Twenty minutes later the two families emerged. Two owl cages and a cat carrier in hand.
Percy's, a screech owl named Hermes.
Harry's Snowy owl he so eloquently named Hedwig.
Harlow's small black kitten, who she affectionately called Beatrice.
"Beatrice? Really where'd you get that from?"
Harlow, scared at the notion of rattling the fragile animal in her cage, held her in her arms, the cat no bigger than her hand, rubbing her head against her stomach where she held her close as she looked over to answer her friend, "A muggle play. She's the main character and is really awesome."
"I will never understand you, why do you bother reading stuff like that? We don't even read magic stories?"
Harlow laughed a little, "Because, George, you can learn a lot from the muggle world. The author is one of the most revered, Shakespeare, is his name And the story is really awesome. The villain stages an affair, the groom confronts the girl at their wedding, she fakes her death, they make up, and all the while Beatrice and Benedict are being set up by their friends. I think one could live by the phrase, "I would eat his heart in the marketplace!'"
George simply gave his friend a wild look before turning back to the group.
Then they heard a voice.
"Professor Snape!"
They turned around to see a Mr. Oliver Wood was the one who called out to his potions professor.
"Mr. Wood. Always a pleasure."
George leaned down to Harlow's ear, "That's Oliver Wood, grade-a suck up and captain of Gryffindor quidditch this year. Percy hates the guy."
Harlow gave a once over to the boy, from the twin's stories he played keeper, and he certainly had the physique for it. But as he nodded to the Weasley's he knew he didn't give a once over to Harlow or Harry.
"How has your summer been professor?"
"Wonderful, I'll see you on the first day of school."
Trying to turn away, Oliver caught a glimpse of Harry and Harlow, and she realized she had been partially hidden by her father's robes.
"Oh, these are your kids? You're going to be first years? Right?"
"Yeah." Harry said.
"And I suppose you want to be in your father's house?"
"No, they take after their mother." Snape's voice was simple and accented, his teacher's voice.
"Do you know how to fly?"
But Harlow wasn't paying attention anymore. Her thoughts started to whirl in a frenzy of what Oliver had just said.
It isn't possible I could go to Slytherin, is it?
So while Harry kept the conversation, talking about how he liked to be seeker if they had enough to play, Harlow slipped into her thoughts.
That thought had never gone through her head. Her Mama was a Gryffindor.
Of course Gael was a Hufflepuff.
And Emmett was a Ravenclaw.
She was mixed, most of her life was raised by a Gryffindor, but her genes had Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.
But did she have any reason to believe that she would go to Slytherin.
Just the thought of living as a Slytherin made butterflies flit around her stomach. She wanted that.
But how would she get it?
"Are you okay?"
It was only when Fred asked her the question that she realized that she had started breathing a little heavier. Beatrice mewing from her hands shaking.
"Sorry, I just had a stupid thought."
"You'll make a great Slytherin you know."
"What?"
George joined their conversation next, "Fred, you can't spring that on someone!"
"Sorry, I just wanted to make you feel better about what Oliver said."
"So you guys don't mind that I won't be in Gryffindor." She whispered quietly even though they moved even further from where her father was now discussing the new year's potion curriculum with the oldest Weasley boy and the quidditch player.
"Course not, it's not like we won't see you. We can show you the map we found, we'll go to the kitchen, sneak into Hogsmeade-"
"Fred!"
"What, we do it all the time."
"That doesn't mean that I want to."
The three of them looked at each other. Eerily serious.
Then they all burst out laughing.
"I can't wait to see everything. Especially Hogsmeade."
"Well then you have befriended the right Weasleys."
"I'm not sure, I'm still convinced Percy might have been better."
"Please, don't insult us like that." The twins said in stereo.
"I'm sorry, but the facts are that I'm not sure that I shouldn't be on track to be Prefect."
Fred and George looked at her incredibly and then they all burst out in giggles.
"Besides, we can't all be beaters, I will have fun trying to knock you off your broom a few times though."
Fred gave her a serious look, he knew she could do that, "you wouldn't."
"But wouldn't I?"
"Harlow, Fred, George, time to go to Ollivander's." Mrs. Weasley shouted at the small group of children huddled around a few yards from the larger group.
The three kids ran over to the group, Harlow careful to keep her kitten straight. When they got there they all headed to the old wandmaker's shop.
Harlow had, of course, seen the shop before, and had been blessed with the gift to meet the owner of the shop, so when he jumped up from behind the counter she was not the least bit startled.
"Hello Mr. Ollivander!" Harry greeted happily to the smiling man.
"Hello Mr. Snape, and others. Why, we have quite a few wands to find tonight don't we?"
Mrs. Weasley frowned at the thought that she couldn't afford to get Ron a new wand, and instead was forced to make him reuse Percy's old one.
"Mrs. Weasley, I assure you there is no need to fret, you know I don't live off a salary, your boy's wand is on me."
"Mr. Ollivander, surely you know me."
"Of course Molly, and you know how it goes, the wand chooses the wizard, you can't expect him to get far on what, an old Unicorn Hair core, is that correct?"
Ron's previously sad eyes were suddenly snapped open, "Do you really mean I can get a wand Mr. Ollivander?"
"Course boy, in fact…" The wandmaker trailed off and headed to one of the back racks where he selected an old box from the shelf and brought it to the front of the store,
"Brand-new wand. Fourteen inches, willow, dragon heartstring core, I think this is satisfactory for you Mr. Weasley."
Something was obviously perfect about that wand, because as soon as it was in his grasp, wild red sparks floated throughout the room and a warm rush of air was cast upon the twelve occupants.
"Bloody 'ell."
"My thoughts exactly Ron." Mr. Ollivander smiled at the boy, "Who's next, Harry, my boy, step up."
After waving his wand to make his tape start measuring him Harry started uncontrollable giggling at the sensation.
Suddenly Ollivander jumped off the ladder he was standing at and a variety of boxes started following him to the boy.
"First one, Pine wood, twelve inches, unyielding, unicorn hair core."
When Harry picked up the wand Harlow held her breath, but let it go meer seconds later when Ollivander snatched the wand out of his hand and replaced it.
"Silly me, I wasn't listening, Holly Wood, eleven inches, Phoenix Feather core."
Before Ollivander could even give the wand to Harry, the boy had grabbed the wand out of the box. With it in his hand the wand emitted a warm golden glow throughout the room.
"Very good Mr. Snape." Ollivander said, and then eyed Harlow curiously.
Harlow had gone pale. Looking at the effect each wand had on her friends made her scared of what would happen. What if that didn't happen to her?
"No need to fear Ms. Snape, every wizard has a wand somewhere in this shop."
Slowly Harlow handed Beatrice to Fred and walked up to the platform and stepped up.
The measuring tape flies up and starts taking measurements.
Suddenly, however, the measuring tape falls and makes a hollow thud as it hits the floor, but it wasn't the tape. Harlow looks at Ollivander, and where he is looking at a wand box that has escaped from the middle of one of the shelves lining the back room.
"Well, Ms. Snape, it seems like your wand has a strong personality."
Everyone laughed, besides Harlow who was staring at the box as Ollivander went to pick up the box and bring it over to her.
"Let's see Ms. Snape English Oak wood, thirteen inches, Dragon Heartstring core. Funny, the match of Holly for your brother and English Oak for you. Both trees kings of the forest for time, then bowing to the other."
But Harlow wasn't really listening to the old man's muttering, she could practically feel the magic radiating off of the wand in front of her. She tentatively moved her hand up to pick up the wand. There were small stars lining the gentle looking handle. As soon as her fingers grazed the wand she felt a blast of electricity course through her body. And as she picked up the wand she watched and felt as though a breeze had entered the room, and an eloquent silver gleam burst from the wand and shone across her face and the people standing around her.
"Ms. Snape, I think we've found you a wand."