Of Blood and Serpents
Part One.
Chapter Two.
-Un-Welcome Home
To say that the death of Lily Evans (as she would always remain in his mind) was a blow to Severus would be a severe understatement to the emotional upheaval he was suffering. To make matters indefinitely worse he was equally charged with becoming the child's guardian, an agreement which he both loathed and detested agreeing to in the first place.
The thought of having it in his home, expecting him to call her a name which she desecrated in assuming caused resentment to boil unabated in Severus's blood the more he thought of it in the upcoming days of the holiday. And, although Dumbledore had not assumed to make any guesses at the child's true heritage Severus was aware, as well as he knew Dumbledore too was aware, that the only reasonable explanation of why she was in the dark lords possession, and why she was important enough to be cared for by Severus, was that she was his child.
It was not unreasonable to imagine, considering much of the Dark Lord's life was a mystery even to Dumbledore, that he founded a bastard child. Though, as Dumbledore said, it did not truly matter, the child needed a home, and Severus, the ever loyal traitor would preform the services. Severus loathed the task like no other Dumbledore had set for him and would just as begrudgingly complete it.
He waited in Dumbledore's Office now, Dumbledore wasting Severus's time as he usually did. This of course was not quite true, but Severus was in a grudging mood with weight of many things laid on his mind making him pessimistic. He heard the stone statue rising carrying, he could only assume, the headmaster and the bastard child along with him.
"Severus," Dumbledore's ever amused tone wore on Severus nerves as he entered, the child in tow behind him remaining quiet and obscure behind Dumbledore's flowing white robes. "I hope you have not been waiting long?" He inquired as he observantly caught Severus flare of annoyance and over all bad temper from the reflected depths of his black eyes.
"Not long." He replied in a dismal tone. His pale hands clasped behind his back as his eyes lowered to the child hovering beside Dumbledore, now less obscured by their proximity. In a flash her green eyes caught his and agony welled in Severus, for in an instant he had seemed to be looking in Lily's eyes.
The sudden revulsion and resentment that ran to clam up the small flash of his pained soul must have reflected clearly in his black orbs, for the child's eyes widened fractionally, then fearfully snapped away from his to the floor as if scolded. Severus raised his head to Dumbledore, his mouth twisting contemptuously, Dumbledore would be much aware of Severus's displeasure of the task as he could make the man. Instead of acknowledging the look he smiled ever politely, only Severus knowing the true depths of cunning and wisdom as well as contempt that seemed to hide easily behind Albus's mask of pleasantry's
"Very good, now if you are both quite ready?" There was neither objections, nor agreements to this remark and Dumbledore left the child's side to retrieve their mode of transportation for the day. Floo powder.
As he set himself to collecting the jar, the child turned her head seeming to stare distractedly lost in thought towards the fire place. As Severus remembered the last she'd been there he grimaced, wondering how much the child had overheard of his shameful collapse. A few moments later the two were standing in the fireplace, green flames licking their feet as Severus barked the location.
In moments they were transported to his cramped living room, murky light making the room seem grey as it shone through his black curtains. Severus had been home since the last time the child had been there, he was forced, after all to arrange for her stay with him. Though he was sorely tempted to have her live in the staircase cupboard, he knew that Dumbledore would most likely know, and besides he'd already taken the effort to clean out his own room previously.
As soon as they stepped into the room he saw the girls eyes fly to the wall of books with hopeful yearning which Severus immediately found necessary to snuff out.
"You are not to touch anything without my permission, nor are you to rummage through any room save your own, and the bathroom. Am..clear?" Her eyes rose to his fleetingly disappointment and anxiousness stamped clear in her green eyes which quickly flicked back to the floor. She nodded mutely in response which Severus found satisfactory enough and continued, his voice clipped and cold.
"Your room is upstairs, the first door to the left. I assume you can follow simple directions without needed a guide?" He asked contemptuously, the mute child giving a nod without looking at him seeming eager to escape his presence which she did promptly afterwards leaving Severus standing alone in his living room as she scampered up the creaking stairs.
Severus turned his scorn to the murky light exuded from the window and snapped the curtain shut with a flick of his wand leaving Severus in the cool small darkness of his living room.
He hated her. She had never seen someone look at her with so much resentment and malevolence he had for her and she couldn't help but cower beneath his intense black gaze, let alone keep herself from bursting into tears. As soon as she'd ran up the creaky old wooden stair case and reached her room she'd curled up on the bed, any curiosities stemmed by the tears which were suddenly pushing their way from her eyes. She had been almost excited to see some many books but he had been so mean that now Lily was certain she would never have the opportunity to read them. In a wave of childish hurt a deep ache sprung in her chest for Hagrid and the comforts of his hut.
The place was cold and stagnant with age and neglect, Hagrid's had been warm and alive with the earthy smell of forest that his work brought. As Lily curled to her side on the worn looking sheets on the bed she squeezed her eyes shut and shook silently as she cried, desperately biting her lip as she sobbed muffling herself by burying her head into the musty smelling sheets. For the first time that she remembered Lily felt terribly alone.
She remained in her room for a long while, simply laying on the old bed at first before she finally rummaged enough energy to start poking about in her room. She hadn't had a room in Hagrid's and had simply slept on his couch by the fire instead. The idea of having a room all to her self was quite appealing though, given that at least she would have the option to hide away here again when Severus was mean to her.
Rubbing the stiff tears from her cheeks she walked around the room. It wasn't that big, but it wasn't a closet either. The bed was in the middle of the room, a worn old single bed with gold paint chipping off of the old rusted metal frame, the blankets themselves were a thick patchwork quilt with little embroidered images of snakes and what looked like a family crest Lily didn't recognize. Another blanket lay folded over the bottom of the bed, it was lighter and knitted with green and silver.
To the left of the rusted metal bed was a simple bedside table with a drawer and a runny old candle with matches beside. There were three doors in the room, one was the one which she'd entered, the other on the left wall of that door were the closet doors and the last door was on the right wall of the room. She walked to it and turned the handle, the door groaning in protest as she opened the door to see a small personal bathroom. Lily was quite pleased seeing it, Hagrid's bathroom being an outhouse a little further away from his cottage than was comfortable to walk on a snowy day. Having a bathroom of her own cheered Lily considerably and she found herself forgetting to dread dinner with Severus as she fixed herself a warm bath.
The taps on the bath were fiddly but she managed to draw a hot stream from it, stripping off her robes and slipping into the hot water. Using the simple bar of soap provided she washed her hair, working through the long black strands and pulling through the knots until her hair was slick and smooth down her back. She stayed in the bath a long while enjoying feeling clean and warmth, disliking the thought of having to leave the perfect warm bubble she created for herself.
She did however, pulling herself from the tub when the light from the tiny dingy bathroom window began getting duller and her stomach started twinging in hunger. She emptied the bath and dried herself with a towel that was available beneath the sink, walking out into the room towards the closet, half curious to see if some of her clothes would be there. She was surprised to see that they were as well as a few obvious hand me down robes that were added to the collection. Quietly she slipped the robes on, noting the unfamiliar smell that wafted from them when there was a tap on her door..
Severus briefly told her dinner was ready and he expected her downstairs promptly. Her feelings of warmth and comfort left her once she'd been confronted by Severus again she again began to dread being in his presence.
Dinner was short and silent an Lily was relieved Severus didn't find any need to speak to her and hardly acknowledged her presence at all for the small duration they were forced onto each others company. Severus only spoke once, and it was as she was leaving to go back up to her room.
"Curfew is Seven, I don't expect you to leave your room afterwards." He said shortly and she gave a small timid nod to acknowledge it before scurrying back upstairs to her room, closing the door behind her and revelling in her privacy.
Once again secluded Lily finished snooping around in the bathroom, finding that the sink leaked leaving a small puddle in front of it when the faucet was used and the hot water tap was stiff and difficult to turn without much effort. The medicine cupboard behind the mirror was similarly stiff and difficult to pull open with out a good tug. Behind the glass she found a new tooth brush and tube of toothpaste just for her.
Lily brushed her teeth and left the bathroom finding nothing but a few fat black spiders under the sink along with her towels and some cleaning materials. Wandering back into the bedroom she drifted over to the closet opening it and glancing over the black robes with little interest as she pushed them aside to dive further back into the closet. She found a box and brushing the spiders off she felt a tingle of curious excitement zip through her as she sat, about to open the dusty cardboard folds.
She stopped, her hands pausing before she tugged the folds open her green eyes becoming reserved. It was very possible that this one box could contain her only source of amusement during the summer and she realized that maybe she should keep it a mystery as long as she could. With a sigh and a small sneeze from the rustled dust that went about the room as she shoved the box back in its place and closed the closet door, sighing quietly and shifting out of her robes until she was in her knickers and crawled into bed, she wasn't tired but she hoped sleep could ease the penetrating boredom and restlessness which stretched through her along with the ache warm fires and feisty mewling kits. Slowly, as she lay still long enough Lily fell into a restless slumber.
Her eyes opened to black, the darkness so complete she had to blink to realize her eyes were indeed open. Her heart contracted in her chest the blanket feeling heavy and constricting above her, like a lead weight holding her to the bed. That feeling of constriction wasn't why she woke though, and for a moment she wondered if she was indeed awake, but the cold brushing against her cheeks and the stifling warmth of the blanket were to real to believe she was dreaming.
No, she remembered the vague outline of a dream she couldn't remember if it had been a good dream or a bad one but she remembered something calling... crying. A the sound of an agonized wail made her stiffen in fear beneath the covers, in the darkness the sound could have come from anywhere. She imagined monsters writhing from the darkness reaching out for her with long boned white fingers...
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
The house seemed too shudder with it, as if it understood the pain carried on the tone. Lily carefully opened her eyes which she hadn't realized in the moment to have squeezed shut. The sound wasn't coming from her room, she felt with reasonable relief, the noise seeming too muffled to be so close. Even as she attempted to comfort herself with that thought another guttural sound of agony echoed and she cringed, for some reason the sound bringing hot fresh tears to her own eyes as she drew the pillow around her ears, the sounds of her sobbing only muffled by the monsters own cry through the house.
In the room across, Severus thrashed in sleep, plagued by nightmares of green eyes and harsh laughter.
In the morning both looked similarly ghostly as they moved about each other in silence and ignorance, each wrapped in their own clouded groggy thoughts as they went about eating breakfast, Severus drifting into the living room while Lily found herself in front of the back door. A tingle of awareness travelling through her she raised her hand to the door knob and turned the brass handle the door making an auditory groan as it swung open, a wave of fresh brittle winter air attacking her cheeks pink and sent a pleasurable chill down her spine.
Lily took a deep breath, an odd smell tainting the air which she ignored, her eyes stinging as they adjusted to the brightness. Blinking and shutting the door behind her she examined the small garden in front of her, the ground cold and hard at the base of the steps. It appeared as if there used to be a small garden at work but the winters long bitter cold breath seemed to have swept the life from the plants leaving the remaining stalks brown and dead, the rest of the small garden similarly dead.
Taking a seat at the bottom of the stairs and watching her breath come out in smoke Lily decided she actually quite liked the cold as it settled into her bones. She remained there revelling in the silence and the cold until her legs became stiff and her bum began to ache from sitting too long and she finally stood and drifted back inside.
She managed to keep herself from opening the mysterious box in the closet for two days before she finally caved in, tired of restless days of wasting away on her bed or staring longingly at books she was too afraid to touch without permission. Pulling the box out she sat with it between her legs and pulled open the flaps to look inside. Her stomach did an odd flip as she reached inside.
Carefully she brought into her faded bedroom light an old school book. Her heart gave a little thrill and she was almost so eager as to crack open the ancient worn pages and to sneak a peek but she stopped herself and reached again into the box.
To her it contained small treasures, old school texts as well as broken quills and ink pots... then something else, buried at the very bottom, a book which was nearly falling apart by the spine, it was worn grey and had no labelling on it, no writing at all. She set it aside with the other books, pushing away the decidedly empty box to wonder at the amazingly delicious contents.
Her days having been so starved of occupation she may have collapsed from the burn of excitement in her chest. She swallowed it tremulously as she grazed over the books her hand oddly drawn to the grey ancient thing which she pulled out last and took it carefully onto her lap and gently opened. Inside lay a flurry of cramped writing on the yellow and cracked parchment, her hair draping around her as she bent closer to scrutinize the words Lily began to read.
January 9th 1969
'Father was kinder today, I can only imagine it was because today is my ninth birthday and my mother may have begged. Mother gave me this journal, supposedly it helps muggles feel better or something, she doesn't want me to accidentally throw another magical fit I think because father might not act as kindly to the next accident...I think this idea is..' The writing seemed to hesitate before he messily continued with the next word,' Stupid, I'm not a muggle I'm a wizard whether mother and father want to admit it or not and no muggle father of mine is going to stomp it out of me.'
Lily didn't hesitate to turn to the next entry and read on hungrily.
January 13th 1969
I managed to get out of the house before father noticed and wandered until I found myself at the park, two girls were playing there so I left again and went to wander down the river, its easier to ignore the stink when your so used to it. I think I might have seen a gnome but I can't be sure, it was getting dark and I didn't want to give father a reason to get angry. Managed to slip back inside the house again for dinner and went to bed. For the past two weeks or so I've been planning to sneak out of my bed and take some of mothers books with out her noticing. Last week I nicked her wand and managed a silencing spell on the centre boards of my floor leading to the door and I can easily hopscotch the silent boards to the downstairs. I think if I'm careful enough I can sneak a book without her and father noticing and without waking up. I know father wont hesitate to beat me if he finds out I've been sneaking around the house and mother won't feel much different but I don't care.
She hesitated at the end of the short jotted entry an idea inspiring in her own mind, fiddling with the cuff of her robes she shut the book and with a little thought pushed it beneath the bed, nooking it beside the end table, the other books she piled back inside the box and carefully shoved back as she stood studying the floor. Her ears attentive to the sounds beneath her she began to carefully map out the floor with her feet.
That night the sounds came again, but this time Lily was expecting them. The cries having echoed through the house nearly every night of her stay and in there familiarity no longer caused paralysing fear in her. She decided to practice walking down the stairs at night, thinking to have figured it out during the rest of the day she slept almost impatiently until the noises started.
She decided she would go after the noises stopped, just in case there really was something out there she didn't want to bump into and cause a stir. She certainly didn't want to get caught, she hadn't thought anything near of a fail safe excuse to get her out of trouble if she happened to get caught, so it simply wasn't an option. Carefully easing herself upright in bed she slipped out from beneath the heavy covers and stood up on her tip toes, sliding her feet carefully over the floor where once long ago a boy placed a silencing spell.
She hadn't actually taken the time to wonder who the boy was, he didn't sign his name after the entries but she supposed the boy had lived in the house before Severus ever did. It made enough sense to her at least and satisfied her without an actual explanation, it didn't really seem important anyways who the boy was, only that he was helping her get what she wanted.
By the time she reached the door and carefully opened it her heart was making quick tattoo against her ribcage forcing her to swallow and take a few breaths so she could keep a clear head. The hall was black and she stretched her eyes wider hopefully as if it would actually help her see. It was useless though and she hesitated before taking her first blind step out into the hall. The floor groaned and she nearly reeled back her heart lodging itself in her throat the simple squeak seeming to scream into the silence of the house.
Terrified but also flushed with determination she cursed herself realizing she'd forgotten to slip her foot further to the right of the board as she practised earlier that day. Summoning her daring and holding onto the doorway still she carefully stepped her other foot ahead. Her eyes closed with concentration she let her foot hover until she found the proper place and gently eased her weight onto it...
A wave of relief crashed over her and she released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. A smile tickling the corners of her mouth she carefully found herself treading down the stairs until she stood at the threshold of the living room. She stopped, hesitating before going any further.
She had only planned on going thus far but she was so close... she could smell the musty spines of books, feel the age old parchment rough beneath her small sensitive fingertips. It would be easy to slip in and just take one now, but something drew her back, a tugging sensation of warning to wait. Letting a small mournful sigh escape her she retraced her steps back to her bedroom, silently closing the door behind her.
Satisfaction rolled through her as she tucked herself back into her bed, her heart giving steady quiet thumps of triumph in her chest as she closed her eyes and curled to her side to fall back asleep.
Severus was not sleeping well. Not well at all and worse still he found himself prone to nightmares, because of this he decided to brew himself sleeping draughts that may help ease him into a more peaceful slumber. The girl, Lillian (as he slowly began to refer to her in his mind) was resentfully unobtrusive, so much so that he found himself ignoring her completely. It was infuriating how easily she worked her way around him so tentative and careful not to step on his toes, so to speak that confronting her was an arduous task in itself.
Which was all the more frustrating because truth be told Severus wanted something to exert his energy on. Something to relieve that sickness which haunted him as he slept and made him restless during the days that he found it difficult to mark the students assignments and to concentrate long enough on a book.
Of course he would never admit or acknowledge that he wanted to cause the girl pain, though the feeling was there it consciously registered as resentment towards the task, the girls frustratingly careful avoidance of him and her not showing the least bit of gratitude for his extended hospitality. His feelings of utter loathing and resentment resurfaced every time he caught a glimpse of the girl, which was mostly only at meal times when they were truly forced together, it was really the other times, when he would catch glimpses of her scuttling around which he began to feel curious as to what she was doing in her spare time.
He knew from his own experience that there was little to do in the house, having grown up there himself. His curiosity was short lived and he made an effort to snuff out the last of it as the holiday dwindled by. He preferred to only acknowledge the girl when necessary and to loath her from afar.
It was in this same disposition that the holiday ended and Lily was finally returned to Dumbledore, Severus unknowing that his preferred ignorance and distance was giving the child an unprecedented experience and a form of learning in its own. Lily had learned much in her time with Severus, she learned that silence was not always comfortable, That what Severus didn't know wouldn't hurt her, and that she was almost ruthless in seeking to slake her curiosities.
She managed, in the time with Severus, read her way through the dusty old school tomes and to successfully steal a fascinating herbology book specifying numerous plants and she spent much of the rest of her holiday copying the information from the thick old text onto the spare parchment she found with the schooling scraps, having some loose idea forming in her mind concerning the forbidden forest.
It was slightly uncomfortable on the day of departure when her and Severus were in suddenly close proximity arranging to leave. Lily was a little distressed, trying to figure how to take her rolls of parchiment and the little diary which she found comfort in reading, discreetly with her. She had not taken anything to Severus's and she didn't want to call attention by bringing anything back.
She managed through, relief flooding through her as she found the baggiest robe she could in the closet which she could tuck the important items into. Severus was waiting impatiently at the bottom of the stairs which she (almost habitually) threaded silently down to meet him upon. Dark green eyes met black ones for a pregnant moment before she averted her gaze cringing.
"Ready now are we?" He drawled with an annoyed edge as if she'd kept him waiting for long. Had she been downstairs waiting for him Lily knew he'd probably have some other snarky remark to make her feel like the weighty burden she was to him. She said nothing as she walked with him to the fireplace, becoming stiff as the fireplace unnaturally stretched and Severus entered it beside her, their proximity making the hairs on her neck prickle.
Closing her eyes against the green licking flames the eeiry dusty silence of Severus home was suddenly replaced by soft ticking's and the quiet murmurs of the paintings of dead headmasters that filled Dumbledore's office. Blinking she stepped out into the brightly lit room feeling almost disoriented and misplaced in this familiar, yet similarly unfamiliar place.
She felt as if it had been eons ago that she first left Dumbledore's office to go with Severus, and now that she was returned she felt different, the place itself felt different to her. Other than the small garden outside Lily had not ventured from Severus's house, too timid to ask if she was allowed. The sudden dramatic change of scenery sent her off kilter and blinking as she coped with the queer discomfort of it.
"Ah good morning Severus, Lily." Dumbledore rose from his great oak desk to greet them his eyes falling to Lily, a concern that was invisible to both in the depths of his intelligent blue eyes as he looked at the terribly stark child before him. Before leaving with Severus she had been quiet, reserved, slightly pale with intelligent pale green eyes which reflected her deep childlike curiosity.
Now she stood, seemingly skinnier than when she had left, her hair which was normally black and glossy, greasy and lank, and those pretty green eyes which held the potential for great knowledge and kindness were withdrawn. Dark green, wary and slightly skittish he could see the flicker of animalistic nervousness which had not been there before. "You may leave now Severus, I will accompany our young friend to her destination." Albus announced, relieving Severus of the task.
"Very well Headmaster." He replied shortly, all to eager to resume his post at the school, finally having something other than nightmares to dwell on, on empty days. Lily watched his black back disappear, her throat oddly tightening as they flicked back to Dumbledore, hesitantly she opened her mouth to speak.
"Why does he hate me so much?" It felt almost unnatural to speak, her voice cracking due to its disuse. She had hardly realized it but she had gone virtually a week without using her voice, that fact going completely unnoticed by her and Severus. His look was that of sad sympathy as he regarded the child in front of him. Rebelling against the urge to look away she held Dumbledore's bright blue gaze, a part of her insides almost crying out for the answer.
"Why, I don't believe he hates you at all my dear." He knelt in front of her bringing himself nearly to her eye level, sincerity and kindness exuding from him eyes as he spoke.
"You see, Severus is very much grieving, and in his grief he sees you as his punishment. His punishment for all the mistakes he's made, mistakes he deeply regrets making. What you must understand my dear is that when he looks at you, he does not see you as you are, but instead as all the terrible things he's come to regret." He explained holding her green eyes steadily, the back of her eyes prickled and while her chest seemed to constrict with sudden despair she also felt relief curled deep in the pit of her stomach, she was home for now, and would not have to see Severus for a long time.
"Can I make it better?" She asked hopefully rubbing her aching eyes. Dumbledore shook his head.
"I think its best to hope that, given enough time he will come to terms with his grief." It wasn't the answer she'd been looking for but it was honest so she swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, and then quietly accepted the old withered hand that Dumbledore offered her and she let herself be led from his office back to Hagrid's cottage.
Just as stepping back into Dumbledore's office had felt oddly surreal so did returning to the hovel. Hagrid opened the door and beamed at her, pleased to have her back and ushered her inside, Dumbledore politely refusing a cup of brandy while Lily slipped past him into his living room. She stood in the middle, oddly taken aback on how much the same everything was since she had left.
Yet in her the change was stark and she realized she would have to once again reacquaint herself with this suddenly new old home. As she stood silently there, her gaze travelling from the wall to the ceiling she didn't notice the flash of spotted yellowish fur but nearly jumped, startled when something brushed her leg. As she looked down Golden eyes stared up at her and a bundle of tightly restrained emotions hit her in a rush and she found her self sitting where she had stood moments before hugging the creature against her chest as silent tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Looks like some'un's as happy yer back as I am." Hagrid chuckled, Lily's hair obscuring her tears from him he only saw the kit patiently and calmly allowing itself to be stroked and cuddled. Swallowing the lump in her throat and feeling relief the shedding of tears brought her she quickly rubbed the remains of the tears away with the back of her robes and released the small animal, standing up and allowing herself to be taken by an unusual urge. Barely able to extend her arms over Hagrids great belly she gave him an earnest hug, her heart filled with painful gratitude. She looked up as she pulled away to a beaming Hagrid.
"I'll take that as yah missed me too eh?" He chuckled patting the top of her head gingerly. "Now how bout a little breakfast hm?"
Severus was relieved when the task of taking Lillian to the Half giants was taken by Dumbledore. He was not in a particularly good mood (was he ever?) and he wished to recline in his own space to brood about the mornings news. This morning Lucius Malfoy had been released from Azkaban, having gained the one way ticket 'out' by convincing the members of wizengamot that he had been only following the Dark Lords orders under the imperious curse. How he even convinced the court of that was a complete mystery to Severus, though he was sure it involved quite a bit of gold and a few underhanded threats of curses.
For, though Lucius's wife looked lovely and soft he knew Narcissia was a Slytherin woman through and through, not to mention the mother of a one year old. A mother witch who knew the dark arts well enough was not to be taken lightly. He was sure Lucius would find a renewed love in his wife now that he was released from the hellish Azkaban, but he only had just began to wonder what Lucius would do when he found out about Severus. As his once faithful underling he had spent the majority of working for the Dark lord through Lucius.
He suspected Lucius would do nothing in regard to it, Lucius as many Slytherin's were was self serving and ambitious. If it was one thing that Slytherin's generally understood about their friends, it was not to take the covering of one's own skin personally. He only hoped Lucius would take the Slytherin perspective of it and look no further into the little matter of the gift the dark lord left him before his departure.
Yes the child, Lucius had been one of the two to witness her delivery to him, the Lestrange woman being the other. He dared not think of the struggle that may ensue if Lucius came looking for the child, as curious of her origins as he denied himself to be. Ending that train of thought Severus summoned himself some Elf wine from the kitchen and sunk himself deeper into his arm chair, letting his hair shadow his face as he tried desperately to keep his thoughts away from the woman with autumn red hair and sparkling green eyes.
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