Of Blood and Serpents

Part Two: Chapter Four

Life at Hogwarts.

Lily opened her eyes blinking as if she had only just closed them. She felt well rested enough she realized with blink sitting up in the strange bed she was sleeping in. 'this is my bed.' she thought with a smile to herself and sat on the side of the bed giving a yawn and stretch. The other girls were still asleep she was relieved to find. Bee, who had been sleeping on the end of the bed woke to nuzzle her gently and hopped down after a moment, her tail strait like a pretty plume of fluff seeming to want Lily to follow her. Lily rose and quietly dressed in her school clothes, she was unsure what classes she had so she left all of her school books and followed Bee down the tower stairs.

"Oh, you're already awake." A female voice noted as she came down the stairs. It was the prefect who had led them to the dormitories. Lily struggled to remember her name, the previous night being a pretty memory full to the brim of wondrous things it was difficult to remember the small details. 'Lysa Bloom.' she remembered then with a bit of thought. "I was about to come wake you to give you your first day packages." The girl explained pulling a rolled parchment from her robe she handed it to Lily who took it gently. "It has your schedule in it."

"Thanks." Lily said opening the small parchment. potions was her first class. She smiled broadly.
"Don't forget to have breakfast." The girl reminded her kindly before starting up the stairs to wake the other girls. Lily didn't feel like waiting for the other girls to come down (for obvious reasons) and so she left with Bee to go to the great hall for breakfast.

She got a little turned around, the Slytherin house was in the dungeon and it was very labyrinth like. Finally she was lucky enough to find some older student heading for breakfast and she followed them out.

"Your that Snape girl right?" One of the older girls asked as they walked.

"Yes." She replied warily.

"Your father must be proud to see your in Slytherin." She said and Lily blinked in surprise looking up to see the girl who was giving her a friendly smile and found herself smiling herself a little.

"Thanks." she said quietly as they exited the dungeon to more familiar territory.

For breakfast she loaded her plate with sausage and egg, and a half glass of pumpkin juice. Just as she was leaving the table Carmilla and some of the other girls were coming in looking groggy an ill kept. She avoided them and their stares as she went back to retrieve her potions book for class and cauldron for class.

She arrived at potions early to see Severus setting up ingredients for the class.

"Your early." He said as if it may be a bad thing.

"I was excited." Lillian admitted sheepishly as she came the front of the class to set books down.

"You may be disappointed, much you've already learned though your own experimentations during the holidays." He told her but it didn't faze her.

"Practice is always good." she said giving him a small smile.

"How has-." He began but was interrupted by the intake of people entering the room. A small gaggle of Slytherin's entered, Lillian's ears perked as she heard Camilla's sharp tone and sunk slightly in her seat like a wilted flower. It did not pass Severus by unnoticed that the small group of first year girls glanced at Lillian periodically their voices lowered to a whisper as they sat together across the room. Slytherin's mostly arranged themselves on the left side of the room Lillian however was sitting in the front middle where Gryffindor's began to sit. Severus noticed as one Gryffindor boy in particular saw Lily and specifically came over to sit. Lily smiled when she saw Charlie Weasely, who offered an easy smile in return as he sat beside her murmuring under his breath.

"I hope your good at potions, I bet I'll be dreadful."

"I'll help you." Lillian promised.

"There will be SILENCE." Severus suddenly snapped, the sharp tone cutting though the quiet murmurs of conversation like a slap. Severus began with his usual speech which he felt set the sort of attitude he wanted most of his students to understand. "There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making. However, for those select few..." Lily felt his attention upon her and flushed slightly. "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." He let his voice hang heavy in the air and felt the weight of the class rooms attention on him. 'Good.' He thought 'perhaps this lot has some hope.' "Now everyone choose a partner and we shall begin." Charlie and Lillian shared a look and it was settled.

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Charlie was right about the potions not being his strong suit but she patiently corrected him on his little errors and their potions were simple enough, they were meant to emit whoever was smelling its favorite scent primarily using a snake swizzle root. When it finally came time to test it Severus stalked the isles leaning in to give a sniff sometimes leaving a simple critique in his wake. When it came to Lily's he seemed especially please.

"Ten points to Slytherin, exquisite work." He said before turning to Charlie.

"Very good Weasely, but perhaps a little less help from your partner Hmm?" He said and Charlie flushed as he moved on. When he got to Carmella's table who was sharing with the two other girls he leaned in and sniffed pulling back with a disdainful expression.

"Pitiful, perhaps had you not spent the time in class blathering." He said in a low voice, robe swishing as he turned away. Lily stifled a laugh chewing her lip as Severus returned to the front of the class.

"Clean your stations and you are dismissed." He said with a flick of his wrist. Everyone took turns cleaning out their pot and Lily took extra care to dry hers before placing her books in to carry back to her dormitory. As she left the class she found while checking her roll of parchment that flying was next. Suddenly something hard hit Lily's shoulder and she stumbled in the hall, looking up in surprise.

"Think that was funny having your daddy yell at me?" Carmella snarled after having slammed hard into Lily's shoulder, her dark beady eyes small on her chubby face which was made uglier with her sneer.

"No I-." She was cut off by another girl , one of the other first years Veronica suddenly pitching in.

"I bet your potion stank and he just gave you the points." The other girls laughed at that.

"Hey leave her alone!" Charlie suddenly charged causing the other girls to look up in surprise.

"Whatever." Carmella snapped looking around her worriedly for a second to see if there were any teachers, when their weren't she and the other girls made faces at them as they walked away.

"Nice lot aren't' they?" Charlie said with a scowl. "Your own house too.. you okay?" Lily released a breath she had been holding feeling tears prick the back of her eyes which began stinging she gave a small nod. "It's okay." He said when he noticed her eyes watering. "They're a bunch of tosser's anyways, you were brilliant in there." he said patting her back with a smile.

"Thanks." She said, attempting a weak smile as she rubbed her eyes. "We should get to class."

"Come on." He said taking her hand.

Charlie and Lily stayed as far away from Carmella as possible during the class. A class which Lily quickly found she loathed and embarrassed herself several times on the broomstick, finding one end would go up and not the other at her command. Madam Hooch attempted to teach her with a few tricks.

"You have to be calm but in command." She told her. Lily tried but she couldn't remove the heavy churning feeling of her stomach that Carmella and the other girls Veronica and Delaney had put there. She felt their eyes on her making her cheeks burn in embarrassment and heard their sharp laughter at her failures. Charlie was decent with a broom stick and to alleviate her own pains she encouraged him along with his other fellow Gryffindor's. She was more than relieved when the class finished and they were allowed to break in the great hall for a lunch.

"You can come sit with us if you like." Charlie told her with a smile, Lily happily accepted, relieved to avoid Carmella and the other girls all together. Some Gryffindor's were surprised to see her there but accepted it without much fuss. The Gryffindor's were loud and a little brash unlike the Slytherin's who Lily was finding were a little more quiet and underhanded. Carmella at least only targeted her when no one else was looking (except her little stooges). She had a feeling Gryffindor's were a little more straight forward when they were being mean. So far Lily was meeting the quiet category, but not the other, she was if anything however a quick learner.

Suddenly it was time for Lily to make her way to the transfiguration class, a class which she didn't share with Charlie or the Gryffindor's.

"Bye." She said with a wave as they went there separate ways.

"See you at dinner." He answered, hefting his books as he walked away.

Lily walked into class to immediately spy a bubble gum pink bob in sitting in the center of the room. Nervously she approached wondering if maybe Tonk's wouldn't want to sit with her, her fears were for nothing though as Tonk's noticed her she smiled and waved her over

"How's your first day, Your dad is scary." spoke quickly and laughed.

"He is a little, and it's alright." she said without much confidence.

"What's your house common room like?"

"It's really big with all these leather arm chairs and a huge fireplace made out of marble, where under water too so its green and pretty." Tonk's hair turned green then as if swayed by the thought.

"Mines a big yellowish room with lots of chairs and comfy places to sit and some greenery." She said, hair turning a tawny yellow like straw.

"Attention students, settle down please." McGonagall was spoke loudly and clearly at the front of the class. Lily immediately shifted ahead quieting. Tonk's played with her pen, wagging it back and forth between her fingers as she listened intently.

"In this class you will learn the mysteries of transformation, of change. All things change and are constantly changing. Here you will learn to harness the change to your very will." She seemed to scrutinize each and every face before continuing. "Open your books, today we will begin to study the nature of transfiguration."

Lily felt her interest and excitement for Transfiguration grow as she read. The precision of it is what perked her perfectionist personality and made her hungry and curious for more. her fingers twitched with excitement to practice what was within the text but that day they only read and there was no wand waving involved.

The day followed with charms, then history of magic. She found charms to be superficial and she didn't have much of a mind to bother, and history while interesting at points boring, much like her early time spent in Hagrid's hut reading his books repeatedly Lily had more of a hunger for action than plain reading.

Dinner was a wonderful and inviting end to the day, she smiled at Severus before she left the table, sleepy and droopy eyed as she made her way to her bed and settled relieved she had made it passed the portrait and remembered the password (basilisk). Bee re-appeared once she had fallen asleep, back from whatever mischief she had managed throughout the day while Lily was busy at school and hopped on her bed to have a doze.

Lily's found soon knew her favorite and least favorite classes. Favorite being: Potions, Herbology (no surprise there), Transfiguration (she found it consistently challenging unlike Potions and Herbology), and she was finding herself very keen in Defense against the dark arts although the idea of fighting was something that did not sit well with her. Her least favorites in order were Flying, Charms, History of magic and Astronomy (Lily had expected it to be similar to being with Firenze but found it to very different.) Carmella, Veronica and Delany were inconsistently passive aggressive towards her. Sometimes they would ignore her for a week, then there were days where she would find Carmella glaring at her and she might say some mean things. Lily was passive and avoidant of the situations but she was also learning to ignore Carmella, her annoyance increasing like an uncomfortable weight on her shoulders egging her to react. How, she didn't really know, but sometimes she felt as if a hot coal was burning inside of her. Then one day as she was leaving Herbology to visit Hagrid it happened.

"There goes snilly to visit her dumb Half Giant." Perhaps it was the way she spoke of hagrid, or the newest stupid nickname she had recently come up with (not very original). Either way Lily rounded on the three feeling the anger boiling up and over as she snapped.

"Do you ever shut - UP?!" Her voice boomed from her like a tornado hitting ground. Magic coiling out of her in a lash, literally slamming into Carmella, like a tidal wave. Her face aflame with anger suddenly quailed into fear as Carmella slammed into the wall with a 'thud'. Veronica and Delany had been pushed back by the sudden wave of rage, now looked at her with eyes wide like owls in terror, Delany actually suddenly broke down crying stumbling to get up Veronica quickly followed Delany to get away. Horror suddenly seeped into Lily like the cold tendrils of winter they clenched her heart as she stared at Carmella's limp unmoving body.

"What is- oh my goodness!" Mrs. Sprout poked her head out of the green room bewildered but quickly alarmed seeing Carmella crumpled against a wall. Lily felt detached from herself somehow, as if she was watching a terrible movie. Mrs. Sprout asked her what happened, but to her it felt as if she was encased in gelatin and unable to answer she simply stared at her, the blood draining from her face making her ghostly pale.

She was led (or at least she thought she was, she wasn't quite sure of anything anymore) to Madam Pomfrey, Carmella had been put on a stretcher and was still unmoving while Madam Pomfrey tended to her.

Severus and Dumbledore were there then, their words hushed to madam Pomfrey, she felt Severus dark eyes on her, her expression blank and unchanged as she watched on. She watched as a sobbing Delany was led in by Madam sprout, she felt the weight of Mrs. Sprouts gaze upon her and that of Dumbledore's as Delany spoke in broken sobs. She did not speak when Dumbledore asked her to come with him to his office. Severus followed behind, his robes swishing with his hurried stride to meet Dumbledore's.

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"If you would let me speak with her headmaster." He pressed, his voice carrying urgency. Dumbledore looked to him surprised to find worry in Severus's dark eyes.

"If you wish Severus." He said as they walked they neared his office. The Gryffindor responded to Dumbledore's presence without the need of a password, the staircase revealed before them Dumbledore allowed them to enter first for privacy, watching the girl with a curiously blank expression follow Severus, pale with her eyes downcast.

Severus walked to the middle of the room, turning to see the girl had stopped short and walked back. He kneeled, his dark eyes probing her distant expression.

"Tell me what happened." Lily could not meet his gaze, her expression twisting slightly.

"I hurt her. I didn't mean to." She said, her voice barely a whisper in the air, her throat was tight as if someone were choking her. she felt the grip squeeze and she fell silent again, struggling to swallow.

"How, why?" He pressed his hands on her shoulders giving her a gentle squeeze as he kneeled. Her green eyes met his and he could see the struggled within them as she spoke in low choked tones.

"They kept saying mean things to me... all this year.. It was an accident . I was so angry... I didn't mean to." Her lip trembled as her eyes filled with hot stinging tears, her icy veneer cracking beneath Severus's black eyes. Severus himself struggled for a moment, age old memories of his old tormentors bubbling up with in him, seeing them played on Lillian's face wrenching him from within. He did not know how to sooth her tears, and what he did felt both unnatural to him yet right all at once. He drew Lily into a gentle hug, her face pressed to the crook of his neck her arms wrapping around him all to easily as she released broken sobs.

"Hush." He said to quiet her, his voice low and warm to her in a way it hadn't been before. She sniffled regaining herself slowly. her eyes red and puffy.

"Will he expel me?"

"I do not believe so." He said to her as she found her composer, rubbing her tears away with the back of her hand. "Wait here child." He said rising and leaving the room. She heard his return, his voice carrying as he spoke to Dumbledore.

"She was clearly being bullied by these students-"

"Severus I would like to hear what Lillian has to say for herself." Dumbledore said, coming to stand in front of Lily whose eyes were still averted to the ground. She had calmed herself significantly, but still found herself sniffling her voice wavering.

"I was going to Hagrid's after class, C-Carmella, Veronica and Delany followed me out to bother me... I lost my temper."

"And these girls often did such things. Why have you not spoken sooner to ask for help?"

"It was just little things Headmaster.. sometimes they'd say something mean like call me names or they'd hide my things in the dormitories... Other times they would hit me on purpose in the hall. They said something mean about Hagrid this time.. I didn't mean to Headmaster." There was silence as Lily waited for the ax to fall. Finally Dumbledore spoke.

"I believe you did not intentionally cause harm to Carmella, Lillian." He spoke in his raspy aged voice. "However." He continued before Lily could hope. "You have caused harm to another student and must face the consequences of your actions. 100 points from Slytherin and you will report to Madam Pomfrey for detention for the next month starting tomorrow evening." Lily finally raised her eyes to the Dumbledore and he could see in them a cool determination and a mix of regret and gratitude.

"T-thank you headmaster." She said in honest relief.

"Severus, if you would lead Lillian back to the Slytherin dormitory." Dumbledore dismissed them turning away.

There was a comfortable silence between them as they walked. Both seemingly withdrawn in thought as they made their way through the winding labyrinth of the dungeon to the Slytherin common room. Severus paused as they reached the portrait turning to speak with her.

"How long have has this been going on?" Severus asked, lily glanced at him, worrying at her lip with her teeth gently.

"Since the beginning of the year." She told him. "They made fun of me when they found out you were my, my-" She didn't quite know how to tell him aloud when it they both knew it to be untrue.

"Your father." Severus finished the thought curtly. "Had I had known I might have intervened." He told her, his tone harshening as he continued. "You will not keep such things from me again." He told her, brokering no argument or reasoning.

"Your often so busy." She said in a quiet apologetic tone leaving Severus at a loss for words for a moment.

"I will make time should you ask." He told her then, his voice softening. She looked at him her expression almost surprised. "Now, to bed. You will tell me if any one speaks ill to you. Now go." He dismissed her with a snap.

The dormitory became silent as she entered. She felt eyes on her, she wasn't sure if she should be surprised that word had travelled so quickly, until she saw a pale Veronica who averted her eyes as Lily entered. Feeling the weight of their stares Lily found her way up the stairs and into her bed where Bee quickly joined her. Quietly she buried them both beneath the covers for a restless night.

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A/N: So if anyone feels like reviewing I would really appreciate it and I would like some encouragement. This is kind of a story that is meant to span a huge amount of time and sometimes I get discouraged at the idea of how huge I plan for it to be. Anyways, I hope you all are enjoying it and I would love to hear what you hate / love about the story and what about it keeps you interested for the next chapter. Is Severus realistic enough?