Lila went to Dumbledore's office the next day. If he had a reason for trusting Snape, maybe she could too.
The busy headmaster was alone and sitting at his desk when she entered his office, "Lila! What a pleasant surprise. Have a seat. How are you enjoying your new profession?"
She gracefully sat in the seat across from Dumbledore, draping her silk dress to her side, "it's lovely. Thank you again for giving me the position. It's a great honor." Usually, head of houses were not as young as Professor Lermernia so she was grateful that Dumbledore trusted her enough for the job.
"You've always shone that you are wise beyond your years and I think many of the Ravenclaw students could learn a great deal from you. But I think you have come to talk to me for an alternate reason. What is troubling you?" Dumbledore's intuitions were always spot on, nothing had changed since Lila attended Hogwarts.
"Well, I wanted to ask you about Professor Snape." She looked at the headmaster with both her hands placed on the chair's arm rests.
"Relationship advice?"
Lila was astounded at how presumptuous he was. Lila and Severus had a few romantic encounters while she was a student at Hogwarts but she didn't think Dumbledore had known. The couple tried to keep it a secret from the headmaster, at the risk of being removed from the school for proceeding with a taboo relationship. Apparently, he knew about it all along. "Uhh, uhm," she was dumbfounded as she started to rub her forehead with her hand.
"Never mind, it seems that is not the reason you came to speak with me about. My apologies, Lila."
"No no," she said closing her eyes, shaking her head, and putting her hand back down on the arm rest, "no need to apologize," she opened her eyes again. "Harry Potter is under the impression that Severus put his name into the goblet of fire."
"Hmm, and you've asked Severus if there is any truth to Mr. Potter's assumption?"
"Yes, he said he had no idea who put his name in."
"And you are having trouble trusting him?" he asked in such a way that made Lila feel like she was wrong for doubting Severus.
She waited a few moments before answering him, "well it seems as if I have plenty of reasons not to trust him these days and very few reasons to trust him."
"Your love for him is not strong enough for you to be confident in him?" he looked at Lila over his glasses and waited for a reaction, "even so, Severus did not put Harry Potter's name into the goblet of fire."
"But why is Harry suspicious of him?"
"Severus and Harry have had a tumultuous relationship ever since before Harry was born, if you can believe it."
"It's something to do with Lily."
Dumbledore sat forward in his chair. He didn't think Severus would let on to Lila about the boy's mother. "Yes, yes it is something to do with Lily. But if Severus has not told you why, it is no place for me to do so."
Lila was getting anxious; she wanted answers, "but you do know that something happened between the two of them, something broke them apart. Do you think that something will break us apart?"
Dumbledore relaxed a bit, "who can say? It is up to the two of you to stop history from repeating itself. Be forgiving, Lila. There is always more to the picture than what meets the eye."
She took in the man's advice, "were they in love?" Lila had always felt herself struggling with an inner competition to beat out this Lily girl. True, she had no idea who she was to Snape, but if she was important enough to stay in Severus' mind all these years, she must have been very special. Lila wanted to know she was better than Lily, even if it was in just one aspect. She was always searching for something she was superior at.
Dumbledore thought about giving her the answer, "no," he finally said. He thought she deserved to take away at least one straight answer, even if the answer was only half true.
A satisfied Lila left the headmaster's office and returned to her room.