Chapter 4: The Reveal of The Century.

Lily stood in the middle of the large master bedroom that was off the same sitting area that connected to the study she awoke in. She had gone to have a bath and get dressed in clothes that hadn't been slept in. Forgetting she had left her belongings in her room at Professor Flitwick's mother's inn. The bedroom was decorated in shades of green and blue, it was a circular room with the bed in the middle. The large round bed seemed to float off the ground, there were also two doors one led to a walk in closet the other to the sitting area that connected all of the rooms. Stepping into the closet lily had a weird hope she would find something to wear, what she saw amazed her. There were robes and dresses lining the walls below them were any kind of shoe she could think of. "Could these be my mother's clothes?" She thought out loud, it was the master bedroom it would only make sense. Lily found her self imagining what her mother would have looked like in the beautiful garments. This was the first time she really had time to think about her mother, "I wonder what she was like?" She asked the void as she fingered one of the summer dresses.

"She was a wonderful woman, who was wise well beyond her years." Lief responded from the shadows, Lily almost screamed at the intrusion but Lief calming voice prevented that. However she did reach up to the towel covering her most sensitive bits, clasping the knot that held it up. Noticing the motion Lief gave Lily a apologetic look, "Sorry Lady Lily I did not intend to catch you in such a state." He said with a bow, Lily did not respond she only glared at the Dryad. "I only intended to retrieve you for breakfast as it is ready, I don't even have urges like that, we Dryads produce asexuality."

This seemed to calm the fury that was building in Lily's chest,but she still felt a bit uneasy about the intrusion. "That's not the point, Lief. You could have at least announced yourself before entering the room." she said firmly but not unkindly.

Lief nodded understandingly. "I apologize, Lady Lily. I will make sure to announce myself in the future."

Lily nodded, accepting his apology. Now back on the task at hand she had to choose something to wear. Looking around the closet she saw various sets of robes ranging from fancy embroidered dress robes to working robes. she finally settled on a soft green traveling robe that was made of a lightweight, yet durable fabric. The robe was adorned with beautiful floral embroidery along the hem and sleeves, adding a touch of elegance to its practical design. The sleeves were three-quarter length, allowing for easy movement, and the hood provided added protection from the elements.

Lily paired the traveling robe with a pair of comfortable brown hiking boots that were made for exploring and traversing rough terrain. She was planning on exploring the land with Severus after breakfast, they needed to talk after the events of the last few days.

As Lily made her way to the dining room, she couldn't help but feel excited about the day ahead. The thought of spending time with Severus, surrounded by the beauty of nature, filled her with a sense of peace and contentment. She entered the room and saw Severus already seated at the table, deep in thought.

Severus looked up front eh spot he was staring in the table, Lily's presence pulling him out of his thoughts. "Feeling better?"

"Many thanks" she responded as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "That was for helping me earlier" she said with a slight blush. Severus couldn't respond if he had wanted to, but it did not matter as Lief began to serve breakfast.

Breakfast was mostly quite with Severus blushing into his eggs and sausages, Lily looked on with a light smile on her face. Breaking the silence Lief spoke up, "Do you have any plans for today Lady Lily?"

Lily turned to the Dryad, the question had caught her off guard. "Uh I was thinking of exploring the area with Severus if he is willing, is that okay?" Lily did not know why she felt so insecure at the moment, but she felt a need to ask.

"You need no permission, this land all belongs to you as the one and only heir of the houses Slytherin and Ravenclaw. You can do as you wish, though I do warn you there are some dangerous magical creatures in the forest so enter with caution. They should be no threat to you" he said while looking Lily in the eyes. "However young master Severus might not be so lucky, they are quite prideful and don't take intruders lightly."

"Don't worry we will be careful" Lily said with a smile. "I do have a question for you," Lief cocked his head to the side in curiosity. "I left my belongings at a small inn in Diagon Ally is there anyway you can retrieve them?" She worded it in a way that she could covertly test Lief's abilities. A sly smile spread across the face of the Dryad, 'I don't expect him to be able to find my luggage but this could be fun seeing if he can find it with just the information I gave.'

"I will make it my duty today, you will have your belongings by dinner." Lief nearly laughed, 'I like her... Today should be interesting.'

"Thanks Lief!" She chirped, turning to Severus who had just finished his breakfast she stared at him with a mischievous smile. "You ready for an adventure?" It had been many years since Lily had a chance to just relax and explore like she used to during her summers with Severus.

"I don't really have much of a choice do I?" He chuckled while standing.

"Nope!" She laughed back grabbing him by the hand pulling him out of the Manor. She knew this would one of the last peaceful summer for the foreseeable future. So she was going to take advantage of every moment, Severus however was questioning if everything that had happened in the last few days a dream.

They first made their way over to the stables, just like when they had arrived Severus noted there were no horses. "Hmm why a stables with no horses?" Lily asked to no one in particular.

"I hadn't really thought about it" he responded.

Lily didn't initially respond she simply let go of Severus' hand to hop the fence that surrounded the stables. "But there are fresh hoof tracks" as if she had cast some form of spell the sound of horses running together echoed through the area. Coming from the forest was a herd of twenty horses, Lily watched in quite awe as the gates of the stables opened to allow their herd access. Lily had always wanted a horse, and always living in cities she knew it was next to impossible. "Sev! Do you see this?" She asked excitedly as she turned around to see Severus approaching her with a serious look on his face.

"See what?" He asked looking her directly in the eyes. Lily looked at Severus in horror, this caused Severus to double over with laughter.

"Not funny Severus!" Lily said with a half laugh slapping Severus on the arm. Looking off toward the horses who were now drinking from the large water trough. "Do you want to go for a ride?" She asked as she turned back towards Severus.

Severus looked to the ground in embarrassment, "I wouldn't know how why don't you go I'll watch and wait here." Next thing he knew Lily had grabbed his hand and started dragging him towards the back of the stables.

"You can ride with me, if you are okay with that?" Lily teased as she looked over her shoulder. Severus blushed and looked back towards the ground accepting his fate allowing lily to pull him along. They stopped at a small alcove that held horse blankets, saddles tack and bridals. With a flick of her wand the equipment began to float along beside them as they returned to the group of horses.

Lily was still holding Severus' hand as they walked back, he could not believe that these last few days had been real. Lily the girl of his dreams had not only hugged and kissed him, events had also proven those occurences were not misunderstood. While her memories were jumbled she refused to leave his side as if he were an anchor stopping her from being pulled into the sea of her memories. He had to fight the urge to pull from Lily's grip and run away, he knew logically she had feelings for him but something inside him told him that she could never want to be with the poor son of a drunk. "Good for nothing boy!" His father's voice echoed through his head, his hand fell from Lily's as he stopped in his tracks.

"Sev? Is something wrong?" Lily asked as she turned around and walked back to him.

"I think I'm going to go home..." He said solemnly while looking at the ground, 'She only likes you out of pity!' Tobias Snape's voice echoed once more in his mind.

"Why? you don't have to you are welcome to stay." Lily could hear the pain in his voice it killed her inside.

"I don't need your pity!" He yelled making Lily step away, I can take care of myself! You don't need to try and save me! Stop pretending you like me.." his rant was cut off by a hug from Lily, he could feel her tears dripping onto his shoulder.

Before he could start berating himself for yelling at the one person who had always been nice to him Lily spoke. "I don't pity you, I know you can take care of yourself. I don't have to pretend to like you because I love you Severus."

Severus had remained stiff the whole time Lily had been talking, he slowly wrapped his arms around her waist. Fighting back tears Severus responded, "I love you too." His voice cracked with pain, this made Lily hug him tighter. They stood there for several minutes before Severus broke the embrace, "you still want to go riding?" He knew apologies could wait they needed something more light hearted.

"Of course I do, but do you want to? We could just explore on foot." This time Severus grabbed her hand, and smiled back at her. "Well then let's get going!" It did not take long for Lily to magically equip the horse with its riding gear. Lily expertly hopped up onto the back of the black mare she had chosen, Severus however hesitated.

"Shouldn't we be wearing helmets?" He asked as Lily helped him up onto the back of the rather large saddle.

"Good point" she said as she looked around, spotting two rocks she flicked her wand at then transfiguring them into two helmets and floated them over to their heads. "There" she she said smugly, just as Severus got his buckled up Lily had the horse start galloping. Severus flailed his arms for a few moments before managing to get his arms around Lily's waist. They rode for about an hour laughing and talking, only stopping once the horse had to rest. They now lay in the grass on the other side of the island as their horse grazed, they watched the clouds go by in a comfortable silence.

Severus was the first to look away from the sky turning his head to catch a glimpse of Lily. As he set his eyes on her his breath was taken away, the way the sunlight danced across her beautiful red hair and freckled face made Severus believe she was an angel. And before he could stop the verbal diarrhea he was asking an awkward nagging question, "So are we dating now?" He asked his voice getting more and more nervous with each word.

Lily fought the urge to respond with 'That would require us to have gone on a date.' but she knew this was not a question to answer with sarcasm, so she simply rolled over and gave him a light peck on the lips. "I think so" she whispered, they spent several minutes staring into each other's eyes silently. Severus' stomach growling brought them out of their daze, "guess we should head back to get lunch."

"We don't have to if you don't want to I won't starve" his stomach growling once more betrayed his tough guy act.

"I'm hungry too, plus I want to spend some time in the library" lily said as she stood brushing some grass and dirt from her robes. Severus simply nodded as he stood mimicking Lily in an attempt to remove the grass from his clothes.

Lief confidentiality walked through Diagon Alley in the visage of a tall dark skinned wizard. There seemed to be some form of festival going on, Lief didn't particularly care but he was happy others were. He was following Lily's magical residue, and it led him to a small inn. He stopped before it looking it over, with his eyes he could see the generations of magic that flowed through the structure of the building. A voice calling out gained his attention "An heir has been discovered!" A young man yelled while holding a paper above his head. "A muggle born student of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry has been discovered to be the heir of both Ravenclaw and Slytherin! You can read about her identity and life here!" He yelled once more while pointing at the paper he was holding. Lief narrowed his eyes at the man as he made his way over to him, "you looking to buy a paper friend? Our stories are so hot they could give a dragon heartburn!"

"How much?" Lief asked in a hushed tone.

"Five Sickles," Lief wordlessly handed the peddler his payment and accepted a paper in return. "Thank you sir have a wonderful day!" The man nearly shouted before going back to shouting to passerby's.

Lief chuckled as he stepped away from the salesman he examined the paper to find a large photo of Lily, Severus and a girl he didn't know walking into the backrooms of Gringott's. Above was the title Lily Ravenclaw-Slytherin, this made his eyes grow wide. "How could this information have gotten out?" He thought aloud, he shook his head. 'No use dwelling on it I best get Lady Lily's things and return to the Rookery as soon as possible.' turning on his heel he made his way towards the inn, this time he had no time to admire the architecture. He strode through the door ignoring the loud patrons of the bar he made his way to the front counter. "Hello my Lady has sent me to gather her things, she was staying in room 12."

The woman behind the desk eyed the man before her suspiciously, "Unless you have some proof of identification I can't do that. she'll 'ave to come and get 'er stuff 'erself." She said while crossing her arms over her chest.

Lief smiled brightly as he produced a rolled up enchanted parchment with the seal of the Raven and Snake placed on it. "Aperta" he said in a hushed tone, as he did the seal glowed before allowing the parchment to unravel. "This is my contact with the family's of Ravenclaw and Slytherin." He said as he handed the woman the parchment, "I am the Butler of the family, and now my Lady Lily who is the current heir of both house Slytherin and Ravenclaw."

Surprise crept across the innkeepers face "I can't authorise this let me get the owner." She said as she hastily turned to enter a door to the left of the front desk. Moments later she returned with a short grey haired motherly woman "Mrs Flitwick, this is the butler I told you about, he wishes to pick up the belongings located in room 12."

Looking the man up and down the elderly witch slightly frowned, "normally the contract would be enough for me to let you take her belongings. However why if you are telling the truth would you be hiding your appearance?" Mrs Flitwick's hands were on her hips and she radiated disappointment.

Lief smiled brightly once more, "I can show you my true form if you wish I can not do it here. I don't want to scare your patrons."

"Eh 'ho do ya think ya are? I'm not gunna let ya take 'er somewhere ya can hurt 'er." The innkeeper said in a near shout. With any other witch yelling she might have gotten the attention of the patrons, but the innkeeper was known for her yelling and overprotective nature towards the owner.

Mrs Flitwick lightly placed a hand on the woman's shoulder to calm her. "It's okay Marnie he means no harm, and I'm not so old I cannot protect myself."

Marnie hung her head slightly, "sorry boss I just..." She paused as if what she wanted to say got stuck in her throat, "better git back ta work." She blurted out before attending to the tables making sure no one needed anything.

"Sir if you would follow me, we can see about retrieving your Lady's possessions." Mrs. Flitwick said as she turned to re-enter her office, Lief smiled as he followed.

As he entered the door closed behind him, looking around the room it looked like a home study. There were several photos lining the walls, Lief did not recognize any of the people in said portraits. The animated ones tracked him with their eyes analyzing his every move. "I don't know why you are hiding your true form, but after everything that has happened over the last 24 hours you will have to bear with me." Mrs Flitwick said as she sat behind her desk with a sigh.

Her words piqued Lief's curiousity, "Before I reveal myself may I ask what you mean when you say 'everything that has happened over the last 24 hours?' Did something occur?"

Her frustration getting the better of her lead Mrs flitwick to pinch the bridge of her nose. "I'm assuming you saw the celebration going on outside?" Lief nodded a yes in response, "somehow they discovered Miss Lily had stayed here and have been berating myself and Marnie about her whereabouts. Even if we knew it's none of some newspapers business."

"In the names of Slytherin and Ravenclaw I thank you for that," he said with a deep bow. "And now for my reveal," with his words his body began to morph into that of a wooden man.

"A dryad... Not something you see everyday" she stated as she looked the man over with shock washing over her features.

"As you can see I can't just travel in my true form without causing a rather large commotion." Lief explained.

"I can imagine..." The look in her eyes went from one of curiosity and shock to one of worry and fear. "There was another looking for Lily's belongings a man who seemed to attract all things dark, he was surrounded by an aura of death and decay. We're it not for our protection writ from the Warriors of the Goblin nation I don't believe he would have taken no for an answer. I do not wish to be apart of what ever is going on, so this is the last I will say on the matter. I have people to protect I will not have their lives put in danger, so please retrieve you Lady's belongings and leave my Inn." Her tone was stern and left no room for argument, despite himself the woman made him feel like a seedling being scolded by a parent. "Marnie will give you the key to your Lady's room," her sentence punctuated by her turning to face the wall of her office.

"I apologize for any hardships caused," Lief said with a bow as he transformed back in to his human form. Without another word he turned and left the room the door closing harshly behind him. He was met with the piercing gaze of Marnie, "I was told you would have the key to Lady Lily's room. I do not wish to be rude but I must return soon, I must serve lunch." Lief could feel irritation setting in having to transform for the second time after decades of not using the power. Each step towards the desk hurt he needed to return to the manor as soon as possible.

"'ere and be quick about it you angered Mrs Flitwick, and I don't wanna be rude either but I don't 'ant you 'ere." She said as she handed him the key.

"Thanks," Lief said as politely as possible in his current condition while retrieving the key. He painfully made his way to the room, opening the door he stepped in closing the door behind him. His illusion dropped with a deep sigh of relief, with a glace around the room he located all of the items with the highest concentration of Lily's magical energy. Without hesitation he sent his roots out to retrieve each item, once he felt each root grab it's intended item he retreated into the wood of the floor reappearing inside the master bedroom of the Rookery.

He gently placed the luggage down, only to hear a voice. "Been a long time since you left the manor last, people still disgust you?" Godrick asked from the shadows.

"They are less so, more interesting than disgusting. Though they have discovered Lily is the heiress," he said simply as he tossed the vampire the paper he bought earlier.

Godrick scanned the paper quickly sighing deeply as he read, "I assumed this would happen but this is too soon." He growled in frustration, "I must go scout the movements of the death eaters," he dropped the paper as he disappeared into the darkness.

"I know you can hear me Godrick, you best be back by dinner you need to spend time with your daughter!" Lief announced as he transferred himself to the kitchen. He still had twenty minutes before lunch should be served and he prided himself on being punctual.

By the time Lily and Severus re-entered the manor it was filled with the smell of herbs and spices. "I could get used to this smell," Severus said without thinking. Realising he said that out loud Severus blushed, 'its not like I'll be able to I'll likely have to return to my parents house before term starts' he thought to himself.

"Me too" Lily said with a light laugh. She looked the teen over the signs of tension clear. "Everything thing okay Sev?" In her past life she would have likely ignored the stress he exuded but she wanted to be a better friend, no, girlfriend. "You have been acting off since we met in Diagon Ally the other day."

"It's nothing really..." He responded voice wavering, at this moment Severus looked like the scared young boy she met all those years ago.

She wanted to hug him but something inside her told her that was not the best choice at the moment. "Something happened with your parents when you, did you have a fight when you left?" Severus looked at the girl in surprise.

Severus' eye drifted towards the ground, "Worse they ignored me, I told them I was going to look for you and they didn't even respond. I know they heard me... But they didn't care I was leaving, they just continued drinking." Severus fought back tears as he recounted his story, the dam broke when he felt Lily's soft hand on his chin. She lightly lifted his chin so she could look him in the eyes. A this point his tears were flowing freely, Lily reached up with her other hand wiping a tear away.

"They are fools you and I have always known this, the pain you feel from their abandonment will dull with time but their pain will wallow at the bottom of a bottle." she said while giving the teen a light kiss on the lips, "No matter what you are welcome to stay here as long as you want or need."

"Good to see you are flexing you power as heir but it is lunch time and I would rather it not get cold," Lief said as he appeared beside them. Lily nearly jumped out of her skin she hadn't expected Lief to show up like that. "Oh and your belongings are in the Master bedroom, I retrieved them while you were on your ride."

"Th-thanks," Lily huffed out as she held her chest.

If Severus had wanted to speak at this moment he didn't think he could, he has been invited to stay indefinitely and things seemed to finally be going his way. His mind was spinning with everything that could go wrong, at the same time his deep trust of lily was shining through and combating the dark thoughts. He watched wordlessly as Lily scolded Lief for popping up without warning, their words sounding like nothing more than mumbles. He was brought out of his trace by Lily grabbing his hand, "come on let's go eat," she smiled.

"Yeah," he smiled back. Entering the dining room they were met with the sight and smell of fresh tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

"Wow that smells amazing," Lily chirped as she led Severus to the table.

"Thank you, and once you are done their is something you want to read" Lief said as he served the teens soup and placed a rolled up paper on the table. "The sandwiches are made with made a freshly made sour dough bread, Pepperjack and havarti. The soup is a simple tomato and basil please enjoy, I must rest it has been a long time since I've left the manor." Lief said as he disappeared into the floor, leaving the teens looking flabbergasted.

Lily was half way through her sandwich when her curiosity overtook her and she reached for the newspaper. Flipping it over revealed the headline "A Hogwarts Heir returns!" Lily's eyes widened at the title before unfolding the paper. Below the headline was a picture of her in her school uniform taken from a class picture, the look on her face juxtaposed her picture as she felt anger boil inside her.

Severus noting Lily's change in demeanor stopped eating and glanced over to the paper clenched in her hands. His eyes narrowed as he noted the headline, he hesitated for a moment before placing a hand on her shoulder. "How could they know already?"

"I don..." Lily began before she remembered the old Goblin that had brought her rings to her. She quickly began to read the article on herself, about halfway through the writer stated his source being a Goblin working for Gringotts. "That old grouch of a Goblin must have leaked the information," Severus looked at her in confusion. "The one that brought me my rings," this seemed to trigger Severus' memory.

"Yeah it must be him, I don't see Erin or Rancor and his family telling reporters." Severus responded while crossing his arms infront of his chest.

Lily slumped forward placing her forehead on the table, "I was hoping to keep it secret for as long as possible, but the cat is out of the bag now."

"Yes and the underworld has already began to move, we must begin your studies." Godrick stated as he stepped out of the shadows, he was covered in dirt and debris. His clothes were torn and burnt, but he didn't have any injuries at least that Lily could see.

"What do you mean? What happened to you?" Lily exclaimed as she stood.

"I was seeking information and the broker had been discovered and the death eaters were waiting for me, all they managed however was to ruin my clothes." He grumbled as he poked a finger through one of the holes, "I don't think they knew I was a vampire they won't make the same mistake again." Godrick hated being so sombre, but at the moment this was a nessessity. "And this is why I must teach you of the ancient family magic that dwells within you. Mastering it is the only way you will be able to stand against the coming storm."

"Family magic what do you mean by that?" Lily asked she had never heard of such a thing in her previous life.

"It's not a well known fact but alot of Ancient and powerful magical family's have magical specialties. A few I know of are the Malfoy's with there rituals and blood magic," both Severus and Lily recoiled slightly at this. "The Black family has there Natural Magic's, and the Potter's Protection magic."

"Blood magic? That's some dark magic no wonder they keep it a secret hasn't blood magic been illegal for close to two hundred years?" Severus questioned.

"Indeed, however I do believe that the Malfoy's have special permissions to use their family magic, plus blood magic itself is not dark it is the only reason England survived the bubonic plague. All magic is intent based, even the unforgivable curses had beneficial uses when they were first woven." This seemed to pique the teens interest so Godrick decided to continue, "The Cruciatus curse was once used to treat nerve pain, the Imperius curse was used to help those who were unable to make decisions themselves; and finally The killing curse Avada Kedavra was created as a way to humanly kill livestock. But spell intent will be one of the things both of you will be studying, but for now we must begin teaching both of you about your family magic."

"I understand me, even though you have yet to tell me what our family magic is, But why Severus?" Lily questioned.

From behind them a gruff voice answered her question "He is the one and only heir to the Prince family one of three remaining Blood oath men to the families Slytherin and Ravenclaw." Quickly turning both Lily and Severus came face to face with a scarred skinny old man dressed in ornate black and silver robes. His eyes were a striking silver, his angular face was accented by a sharp well groomed grey beard.

"Grandfather!?" Severus exclaimed nearly falling backward. "What are you doing here?"

"Now is not the time for pleasantries, we have little time for you to learn the healing magics our family specializes in." The elderly man responded sharply while grabbing Severus by the wrist.

"Hey! Wait a minute here, who do you think you are?" Lily asked as she stepped infront of Severus' grandfather.

"I am Sir Septimus Prince this is my grandchild and I have been asked by Godick to train my lump of a grandchild in his family magic, and some silly girl will not stand in my way." As Septimus attempted to push Lily out of the way a vine sprouted from the floor and tightly grasped his wrist. "What is this foil thing!?" He growled as he attempted wrench his arm free.

"That is Lief our butler, he abhors violence directed at anyone. You are lucky he is resting and knows not who you tried to harm, otherwise your grandson would be taking your place as Lord sooner than you expect." Godrick said with a light chuckle, "For that is the heiress of both Slytherin and Ravenclaw. My daughter and your liege lady Lily Cassandra Slytherin, I recommend you show her proper respect before I stop finding this slightly amusing."

Lily could not believe her eyes as she watched the blood leave the proud Lord Prince's face as he realised who she is. "My apologies My Lady please forgive any offence I have caused is there anything I can do to amend my actions?" he exclaimed as he let go of Severus' hand and fell to his knees.

Lily felt slightly awkward standing infront of an obviously proud man kneeling before her and begging forgiveness. "Just treat Severus well he is precious to me" Lily responded earning a blush from Severus and a confused look from Septimus.

As Septimus stood the vine retreated from his arm, "Very well my Lady your will shall be done, come now Severus we must begin." He said while gesturing to his grandson behind him. "Worry not Lady Lily I shall not fail in training Severus." He continued as he left the dining room.

"I have a feeling that man is going to be a pain in the ass." Lily lamented as she sat back down in her chair.

"That's the Prince's for you eccentric to the last but loyal to a fault" Godrick added.

"Don't think I've forgotten you haven't told me what our family magic is Father." She said as she leaned back in her chair.

"That was somewhat intentional, as our family magic requires a bit of explanation. Our magic is Bestial magic, each member of the Slytherin family is attuned to one member of the animal kingdom. I was born with an affinity for bats, your grandfather snakes. The beginning of your training will consist of finding what animal you are attuned to."

"So where do we begin?" Lily asked.

"In the forest of course" Godrick said with a laugh.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait between chapters real life has been raking me over the coals. However life goes on and so does this story I hope you enjoy!

Reviews are appreciated.

Take care!