Authors Note: I hope you don't mind that I updated this fic first, but I had more written out for it. Also, please don't kill me for what I did in this chapter. I just thought it would be a little more interesting in Lillian's road of recovery and guardianship. You know how I am about villains and such, so.. yeah. Also, you'll be able to tell that I had to correct myself on Snape's relation to Lillian. If you guys spot these errors too, don't be afraid to tell me! Next time I'll have to physically write out the tree so I don't have this problem again. :P Anyway, thanks guys for all your reviews and favorites and things. It really motivates me to continue on with my fics. I promise Child of Spring will be updated soon. I can't say when specifically, (since that never works for me) but I can say it should hopefully be within the next two weeks.

So without further ado..

Chapter Three: Temporary Guardian

Stephen Jorkins stared at the results that the enchanted quill had written out. Severus Snape was Lillian's uncle? He shook his head a little and studied the family tree more closely.

Robert Prince was Lillian's father, and Eileen Prince was Robert's sister, making her Lillian's aunt. Which actually made Severus Snape Lillian's cousin.

He still couldn't believe it! But as he looked at the paper, he realized that Professor Snape was Lillian's closest surviving relative. So with that in mind, he got out a fresh piece of parchment and hastily began writing Severus a letter.

"Good news! I found out you have a cousin. You should be able to live with him."

Lillian stared at the parchment with her family tree on it in wonder.

"Wow," she said in a voice hushed with awe.

"I'm writing him now to tell him about you, and then when we can arrange it, I'll take you to him." Stephen said as he finished writing. He frowned a little at the letter though, as he looked at Lillian. She was so young, and Professor Snape was no spring chicken. Well.. Maybe Lila was younger?

He told Lillian to stay put as he folded the letter and placed it in an envelope, sealing it with a ministry seal. He wandered off to go send the letter off with an owl.

Severus Snape was not in a good mood. It was already mid August and he was very behind on his potion making for the coming year (he helped out Madam Pomfrey by keeping the Hospital Wing stocked) and it was all because -

He winced as there was a loud tapping at his magical window, and frowned as that caused him to add one drop too many to his calming draught, rendering the last hour he spent on this potion completely useless.

With a frustrated sigh, he waved his wand over the cauldron, silently clearing the potion away. With another wave of his wand, he magically cleaned the cauldron to within an inch of its life. Satisfied with his handwork, he walked over to the window and let the owl in.

The owl flew aggressively at him with a loud screech and threw an envelope in his face before flying right back outside again. Muttering darkly under his breath, Snape picked up the envelope and saw that it was yet another letter from that idiot Stephen Jorkins from Family Affairs at the ministry. Since Snape knew for a fact that all his family was dead, he paid the letter little mind and tossed it in a pile with all the others he had received in the last few weeks from Jorkins.

It wouldn't have been such a bother, but somehow the ministry owls always managed to interrupt his brewing and ruin whatever potion he was working on. Not only that, but the owls were getting increasingly aggressive.

Why anyone had thought placing a magical window in the potions lab in his quarters was a good idea, he had no clue. He muttered to himself as he started making the calming draught again. At this rate he was going to have to sample his own wares.

Blasted owls.

Ministry seeks Temporary Guardian for Lost Child

Stephen Jorkins of Family Affairs has informed the Daily Prophet that he is currently looking for a kind family to take in a young child while he attempts to contact her last surviving family member. All those seeking to apply should contact...

Stephen sighed as he looked over at poor Lillian, who was sitting at a little table in his office, as she practiced writing with a quill. She had been staying with him in his home ever since she had turned up in his office a few weeks ago. He was so certain Snape would contact him immediately, but now he didn't know what to think. He had tried turning up at Snape's home at Spinner's End to no avail. Either Snape was on holiday or at Hogwarts. It was the uncertainty of Snape's current whereabouts that stopped Stephen from just turning up at Hogwarts.

He turned a quill over in his fingers as he thought about what to do. He supposed he could always write to Albus Dumbledore, but he didn't really want to get the Headmaster involved in Snape's personal affairs.

As another sigh escaped him, both he and Lillian jumped as his office door suddenly banged open.

A young man with perfectly styled short, wavy, blond hair and an impeccably bright smile strode into the office as if he owned the place. He was wearing robes that were a bright periwinkle, and his eyes sparkled with happiness.

"Fear not!" the young man declared dramatically. He walked up to Stephen's desk and flashed him a blinding smile. "Gilderoy Lockhart is here to solve all your problems!"

Stephen just gaped at him.

A short time later, Stephen stared down at the papers Gilderoy Lockhart had filled out to become Lillian's temporary guardian. He had his own home in the country and a flat just outside of the hustle and bustle of London, and even though he was very busy promoting his latest book, Magical Me, which was an autobiography.. he was still the best person for the job.

A groan escaped Stephen as he buried his face into his hands. No.. Lockhart was the only person for the job. Nobody else had applied yet. The small article in the Prophet had been buried towards the back and he doubted he would have gotten many applicants.

Stephen looked back down at the application. Gilderoy had indicated that he was going to be teaching at Hogwarts, which was Stephen's main reason for allowing this travesty. He only hoped that he could get a hold of Snape before Lockhart filled Lillian's head with too much garbage.

Shortly after leaving the ministry with Lillian, Gilderoy and Lillian were hounded by reporters for the Daily Prophet. Gildeory didn't seem surprised at all to see them there, and certainly didn't think of demanding how they knew he would be there, applying for temporary guardianship of a poor child. No, he certainly wouldn't ask that since he knew perfectly well who had tipped them off and he certainly didn't want that printed in an article. A cameraman shot several photos of Gilderoy flashing his dazzling smile, while Lillian shyly clung to Lockhart and hid her face in his robes.

Lillian was so intent on hiding from the bright flash of the camera, that she wasn't listening to all the nonsense Lockhart was spouting about her.

"Yes, as soon as I heard about this tragic girl's story, I knew at once that what she needed was love and guidance, from the best person possible," Lockhart said while managing to show off all those sparkly teeth.

"How did this girl wind up at the Ministry? What happened to her family?" a reporter asked, as he hastily scribbled on some parchment with a self-inking quill.

Lockhart's smile dimmed somewhat as he thought of the story that whats-his-name.. Jenkins..? had told him. Lillian had been thought a muggle child and was obliviated by a well-meaning wizard, which resulted in severe memory loss that only a very skilled Legilimens could cure. Lockhart had also learned that Lillian's biological mother and father were dead, and her only remaining relative, a cousin, was ignoring the ministry owls being sent almost daily.

While very tragic, it also wasn't terribly interesting.. So Gilderoy Lockhart did what he did best.. He invented.

"Sadly, little Lillian here is an orphan. Her parents died tragically of Vastantes, a terrible wasting disease that seems to run in her family. However, in order to prevent this horrible atrocity from repeating itself, I have dedicated myself to coming up with a particularly powerful potion that will cure this terrible, terrible disease." Lockhart solemnly shook his head at the mention of Lillian's parents' deaths, but ruined it with a roguish wink. "Will this lead to another book? Only time will tell! Anyway, I really must be off. Even though I am only a temporary guardian, I must see to it that she is properly clothed, as despite their tragic deaths, Lillian's parents were really quite neglectful, leaving her with few belongings. I will of course, be accepting any donations to her on her behalf.."

And so after what turned out to be a rather lengthy interview, Gilderoy Lockhart apparated away with little Lillian.

He would soon realize the error of this when the first thing Lillian did upon arriving at Diagon Alley, was vomit spectacularly all over his boot.

After quickly looking around and determining that no one saw this, he whipped out his wand and banished the mess, leaving his boot as shiny as ever. Lillian had burst into tears afterwards and Lockhart found himself awkwardly rubbing her back while she clung onto him, soaking his sleeve with her tears.

After panicking somewhat (he really was rather clueless about children), and saying some rather unhelpful and nonsensical things, Lillian finally calmed down, especially after Lockhart had explained that they were here to buy Lillian some new things.

After spending a small fortune at Madam Malkin's, Gilderoy soon found himself at Pilliwinkle's Playthings on Horizont Alley.[1] He glanced down at Lillian and saw she was entranced by the shop display of toy trolls dressed up as ballerinas. A small, real smile graced his lips as he watched her eyes sparkle in happiness. Sure, he had originally decided to take in the child to further his own fame, but he was soon realizing that this.. This was something special.

And despite the numerous offers of his adoring fans, he wasn't getting any younger and it would be nice to have an heir to carry on his legacy. Lillian's cousin obviously didn't care a whit about her. Perhaps he could see about making this temporary arrangement more permanent.

After letting Lillian gawk at the display for a few more moments, he gently lead her inside. Even though the shop wasn't very big, every square inch of it was devoted to wizarding toys. It was a child's paradise. He told Lillian to pick out whatever caught her fancy, but then paused as he saw how overwhelmed she was by everything. So he took a hold of her hand again and lead her around the store.

For once, Gilderoy Lockhart wasn't trying to make himself seem important and perfect for reporters or his fans. For the first time in a very long time, he was enjoying an afternoon of just being himself and helping Lillian pick out a number of toys he remembered playing with when he was young.

It was as they were leaving the store, with Lillian clutching a small stuffed bear wearing a wintery blue cloak with matching hat (the outfit could change colors with a verbal command), that Gilderoy's real smile turned into a sly one as inspiration struck.

He could write children's stories! Yes, it would be glorious. He could make up stories about his youth and get the children primed to buy his other books when they were older. For a moment he saw nothing but mounds of galleons, and was contemplating on what to do with his future fortune, when he heard a loud rumbling noise. He looked down at his charge, who was blushing.

"My goodness, was that you?" he exclaimed in surprise. "You must be starving!"

Lillian looked embarrassed, but Lockhart didn't comment on it. Instead, he steered her into The Fountain of Fair Fortune, which happened to be nearby. Lillian looked at the storefront happily, as it was a faded pinkish color which she just knew in her heart of hearts, that that was her favorite color. She looked up and saw the name of the pub above the door in faded golden letters.

The inside looked much like any other pub, with a large bar and several small tables around. Lockhart chose a table near a window, so Lillian could see the people walking by, and for once didn't look around the room to see if there was anyone he wanted to impress with his deeds. Lillian didn't realize it of course, but Lockhart was being almost normal.

Lockhart took it upon himself to order for the both of them, soup and sandwiches with a gillywater for himself and a butterbeer for Lillian.

"Is that like rootbeer?" Lillian asked in confusion. She had pumpkin juice at Stephen Jorkins' place, but he had never mentioned butterbeer to her.

"I suppose.. In a way," Lockhart said after some consideration. "It's a sweet drink for a sweet girl," he added on with a smile at Lillian.

Lillian giggled at that and happily dug into her soup, dipping her sandwich into it. She realized right after she did it, that it might be considered rude and she looked hesitantly over at Gilderoy.

Lockhart didn't seem to be phased however, and gave her a wink as he did the same. Soon lunch was over, and Lockhart lead her back outside after paying the bill. He looked down at her, thinking of what else he had to buy.

He had decided that they would be staying at his cottage in the country, of course. It was out of the way and the fireplace was connected to the floo network, which would make traveling to and from there very easy. The cottage was small and purchased in his not-so-rich days. He had always wanted a large manor to show off his many awards and achievements, but he hadn't saved up for it.

And sadly, it would be a rather large and empty manor, as there was no Mrs. Lockhart yet. Not even a hint of one, he thought ruefully to himself. He was far too busy in his travels. But now with him settling down a bit for some teaching at Hogwarts, maybe he could make his dream a reality.

He clapped his hands together.

"Now, to business!" he said eagerly to Lillian. "We might have gotten you the toys to fill your room, but we still need books and all the furniture as well. My spare room at home is set up as an office, but that can easily be changed."

Lillian's eyes widened at that.

"You're gonna buy me a bed and everything? " she asked in disbelief.

Lockhart smiled down at her.

"Of course! I can't have you sleeping like a house elf, now can I?"

Lillian looked confused at that, but Lockhart didn't seem to notice as he thought about where to acquire such things.

Hmm.. But then he recalled Farley's Fine Furnishings[2] down Vertic Alley[3], which was not very far from Horizont Alley, and so he soon steered Lillian off in that direction. Vertic Alley had all sorts of interesting shops, just as Diagon Alley and Horizont Alley had, but Lockhart only had eyes for the furniture store, so Lillian didn't have much time to look at the shop windows. They had just passed a rather colorful storefront, when they paused in front of Farley's Fine Furnishings.

Lillian looked up at the rather austere store front, with its name in a fancy gold script, which should have made it difficult for her to read, but Lillian managed it just fine all the same.[4]

She wondered what sort of furniture a store with such a fancy storefront would have, when Lockhart lead her inside. She looked around to see all kinds of furniture in all different kinds of wood. She wondered what made it magical, since she felt like it looked pretty much like regular furniture. She realized how mistaken she was when they reached the section that held children's bedroom furniture. There were all sorts of displays set out, showing off the different types of beds one could get. The themes where what made everything so magical.

Lillian stared at a bedroom that had a bunk bed set up to look like a castle. The wood of the bed actually looked like stone and near the headboard at the top, it looked like there were turrets. The painted walls by the bed were painted to look like a countryside, and the flowers looked so realistic that Lillian would swear she could smell their scent as they blew about gently in an invisible breeze.

Lillian's gaze was torn from the swaying flowers however, when she noticed the fire breathing dragon. This dragon was a chinese fireball and painted very realistically. The dragon gave a great roar and soon was breathing fire, setting a small part of the meadow ablaze.

Lockhart looked down to see Lillian gaping at the moving flowers and dragon on the wall and chuckled.

"Would you like something similar for your room?" he asked kindly.

Lillian tore her gaze away from the wall and looked up at him with her eyes alight.

"Could I?" she asked hopefully.

"Certainly!" Lockhart said as he ruffled her curls. "I'll need to hire a painter, but you can have whatever you like on your walls and whatever you want for a bed."

Lillian grinned happily at that, and turned to the task of picking out her new room.

A little while later, after having been reassured that the room would be done to Lillian's satisfaction, they stopped for an ice cream at Florean Fortescue's.

"I think for now we'll have the basics of your room set up," Gilderoy said, "and then tomorrow we can talk about what to paint on your walls. Remember, it will be magical paint, so anything goes! You can even have pictures of scenery and it'll move as if you really are outside. Or you could have a fire breathing dragon.. Anything goes."

Lillian's eyes grew wide in astonishment as she stared at Gilderoy in wonderment.

Anything?

This was all a bit much to take in, in one day. Sure Mr. Jorkins had explained about magic to her, but she didn't realize it was so.. encompassing. As she thought this however, she wondered how such a big word suddenly popped into her head. She didn't know any big words like that, right?

Gildeory, lost in the thought of Lillian's happiness at her complete room, missed the brief look of confusion on her face. They soon finished their ice cream in silence, one contemplating the immense gratitude that would soon be thrown his way, the other wondering somewhat bitterly just why she had to practically forget her entire short life.

With a sigh, she turned worried eyes up to Lockhart.

"Mr. Lockhart," she started, but was soon interrupted.

"Ah, that is so formal my dear!" he said with a toothy grin that he was so famous for. It faded however, when he saw the look on her. In a much gentler tone, he asked her softly "What's wrong?"

Sudden insecurity plagued him, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was messing this all up. He hated doing things he knew absolutely nothing about, and he definitely knew nothing at all about children. But he just couldn't let that poor child suffer without a guardian of some sort..

And the publicity wouldn't hurt either, a little niggling voice in the back of his mind told him. He quietly told that voice to shut up and listened to Lillian.

Normally that was the voice he listened to most, but now he couldn't afford to.

"..Will I ever get my memories back?" Lillian asked as she swirled the dregs of her ice cream sundae around. She sniffled and her face crumpled. "..I.. I can't remember.. anything.."

Gilderoy gulped as he saw the tears spill down her cheeks, but he quickly brought out his handkerchief (a periwinkle to match his robes, with a G.L. embroidered on it fancily in loopy letters in gold thread) and gently wiped her tears away.

"Of course you will!" he said in what he hoped was a reassuring voice. "In fact, I had a talk with Mr. Jenkins about this very thing earlier in the day."

Lillian's eyes widened at this.

"Y-you did?"

Lockhart nodded, relieved he didn't even have to make this up.

"Don't your remember? We had a discussion about this as I was filling out papers."

"OH!" Lillian said, blushing a little as she wasn't really paying attention to all their prattling.

Lockhart smiled at that.

"You really didn't think he'd let me take you without explaining about your memory loss, didn't you?"

Lillian blushed more at this, and Lockhart chuckled a little.

"I had to talk to him about how I was to care for you and such, and he explained all about your memory loss to me. He also told me that there's a very good Legilimens at the very school I'm going to be teaching at."

Lillian tilted her head at that.

"You're going away?"

Lockhart did chuckle at that.

"And taking you with me, my dear. It's a magical school and all the professors there know a good deal about magic. Some have varying expertise in different things. Whereas mine is in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Snape's is Potions.. Buuut," he wagged a finger at Lillian, "he is also a very good Legilimens. That means that he can look right into your mind and find where all those memories have run away to. Because you see, a memory charm doesn't erase the memories it just locks them away from you, so you can't remember them. Professor Snape will be able to see where those memories have run off to and he should be able to unlock them for you, without hurting you one bit."

Lillian stared at Lockhart with very wide eyes at this.

"Wow.." she said in awe, not sure what else she could say about all this. Then she started bouncing around in her seat excitedly as all the sugar started to kick in. "When are we going to school?!" she asked, very hyper.

Gilderoy beamed at her.

"In just a few short weeks!" he exclaimed. "School officially starts on September first, but I'll write to the Headmaster and see if we can arrive early to settle in. I think a week should do it, don't you? Then after you are settled and your room at the castle arranged, I can ask Professor Snape about those memories. Since it seems to be all your memories, or at least a very good deal of them, I doubt he'll be able to unlock them all at once, but he should be able to do a few at a time."

Lillian nodded at that, her curls bouncing.

"I can't wait!"

Gilderoy laughed at her enthusiasm but much later, after they had finally arrived home and had the basics of her room arranged, he was much less amused when she was still bouncing around, stuck in hyper mode.

How in the name of Merlin did you get children to stop?

Sorry, sorry! I forgot my ending notes completely. So now.. here they are!

[1] Horizont Alley came from the internet which claims that it's a part of the Harry Potter thing in Florida, so I'll take its word for it, since I've never been there, unfortunately. It did list some interesting shops and things, so.. yeah. Shameless stealing to make Diagon Alley more.. bigger? Seriously, it's gotta have more than Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley.

[2]Farley's Fine Furnishings, I made up. The family however, is one the internet claims that is one of the ones that just disappeared in the seventh book. I guess it's mentioned at some point on the Wizarding Wireless.

[3]Vertic Alley, came from what I thought was another informative site, but was actually set up for roleplaying. Anywho, I thought it would work for another alley, so there you go.

[4]Lillian might have forgotten almost her entire life (really, just her life as the Child of Spring was erased, but her earlier memories weren't unlocked yet (since HP takes place before Rise of the Guardians) so thus.. total amnesia. Anyway, she'll still retain all her subconscious things, so every once in awhile something might pop up that will be confusing to her, since she has no idea that she's much older than six.

Author's Note: ARRRRG. This is what happens when I rush a chapter out. I get all excited and forget that I had actual footnotes for a change. Anyway, what do you think? I hope you aren't hating on me too bad.. But I thought it might interesting to see Lockhart as someone who isn't super shallow. I consider his.. fakeness a front that he puts up for the reporters or anyone he wants to impress. I refuse to believe that he only mastered ONE THING from his ENTIRE SCHOOL YEARS at Hogwarts. I'm sorry, but the guy HAS to know more than a memory charm. Seriously.

I'm also sorry for not stopping when they get to Hogwarts, but I felt that was a good stopping place for now. So next chapter will have Lillian and Lockhart showing up at Howgarts and all about her stay before Harry and Co. arrive dramatically. I think it'll be interesting (and difficult for me!) to show everything from Lillian's point of view. Although I'll probably switch between her, Lockhart and Snape since you know I like switching things like that. :) You probably won't see too much of Harry by himself, since we already know that story.

So anyway! Let me know what you think, and if you have any suggestions. Jack will probably show up much later, say.. winter time?

Edit: Also, vastantes is something I made up. It's just supposed to mean wasting in latin? I believe? And there wasn't much info on the Wiki about Lockhart, so I made up where he lived. I figured he probably wouldn't have a huge manor to live in yet, since he's always on the go. And like he thinks, it would be a very empty manor. Now hopefully this is my last edit!