Chapter 4
Walking into the Great Hall, Harry and Camille sat opposite each other at the Gryffindor Table watching curiously as they saw Hagrid sitting with the other teachers.
'What do you reckon?' Harry asked, looking up at Hagrid.
'Well, given that I don't see Professor Kettleburn…' Camille replied, thinking. 'I'd guess he's the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher.'
Seeing Snape frowning in their direction, Harry said, 'I think Dumbledore's going to be making his start of term speech soon. Snape's giving us that 'pay attention' look.'
'One of these days I want to find out where Snape learned to sign,' Camille said, looking up at the headmaster before turning back to face Harry who started signing as Dumbledore started talking.
"Before we all become too befuddled by the feast, I'd like to like to warn each and every one of you," Dumbledore said, his eye landing on Harry for a moment before returning to the room at large. "As you are no doubt aware from their search of the school train, Hogwarts will be host to some of the dementors of Azkaban. I implore everyone to use extreme caution. Give the dementors no reason to harm you. Now… as we are once again in need of a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, I have employed Professor Remus Lupin. Also, since Professor Kettleburn has retired in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs, I have given the post to our own gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid." Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Camille applauded loudly as Hagrid stood, almost knocking over the table.
--
After the feast, Dumbledore headed up to his office and stopped dead when he saw that someone was already there. "Excuse me…" he said, politely as the woman turned to face him. "But who…?" Dumbledore couldn't believe his eyes. Surely this was some sort of trick.
"Oh, you better believe it's me," Lily said, her arms crossed and her green eyes blazing. "And you'd best believe that we're going to talk about how you've treated my son."
"How did you…?" Dumbledore sat behind his desk, completely perplexed about what he was seeing. "We never found your body."
"Thus suggesting that maybe I wasn't dead!" Lily snapped, angrily. "How dare you put Harry's care in the hands of my sister!"
"I was using your sacrifice to forge a magical protection on Harry," Dumbledore explained calmly. "As long as Harry was in Petunia's care, no one could harm him."
"Except for Vernon!" Lily shouted. "But I guess you don't care about how Harry's throat was crushed… or how Camille lost her hearing."
"What do you mean?" the headmaster asked, sitting up more in his chair.
"Camille had an ear infection," Lily explained, trying to keep her temper in check. "Since she's a witch, Vernon and Petunia ignored it. Then when Camille said that she couldn't hear, they finally took her to the hospital where the muggle doctors told them the deafness was permanent. Vernon thought Harry had done it and tried to strangle him, crushing his larynx and destroying his vocal cords."
"Good heavens…" Dumbledore murmured. "I promise you, Lily… I had no idea."
"And I bet you had no idea that Sirius was innocent, either," Lily retorted.
"I beg your pardon?"
Lily smirked. "James and I switched Secret Keepers days before… We made Peter Pettigrew the Secret Keeper. He's the one who betrayed James and me."
"Sirius still blew up that street and killed 13 muggles," Dumbledore replied, sadly. "Even if he wasn't the one who leaked your whereabouts to Voldemort…"
"Pettigrew did that as well," Lily countered. "Sirius is completely innocent of all charges."
Dumbledore leaned back, thinking. "Where is Sirius? I presume you have spoken to him recently."
"He's safely hidden," Lily replied. "And he'll stay that way until his safety in guaranteed."
Turning to leave the office, Lily smiled when Dumbledore asked, "Please, Lily… Indulge my curiousity. How did you get into my office?"
Lily turned around, still smiling. "Sorry… but that's my little secret."
--
Camille awoke early the next morning when the alarm on her vibrating wristwatch went off. After getting up and dressed, she headed down to the common room just as Harry was coming out of his dormitory, his bag slung over his shoulder. 'Morning, Cam. Sleep well?'
Camille nodded as she hefted her own bag. 'It's amazing how well you sleep when you can't hear anything.'
Heading down to the Great Hall, the two cousins signing the entire conversation, they discussed their new classes including Care of Magical Creatures and Divination.
"Miss Dursley… Mr. Potter…" Stopped by Professor McGonagall, the two looked at her expectantly. "I have your schedules. And Professor Snape has reminded me to tell you that you're not the only ones who know sign language."
'Sorry, Professor McGonagall,' Harry and Camille replied. Harry exchanged a very subtle look with his cousin before asking, 'Professor? How is it that Snape knows sign language?'
McGonagall gave a slight smile. "His grandmother was deaf. He learned from her. Now… Here are your schedules. I expect you to be prompt to Divination this morning…" Under her breath she muttered, "Even if Trelawney is a fraud." Handing over the schedules, McGonagall headed into the hall.
Once at the Gryffindor table, Harry caught sight of Malfoy who seemed to be pretending to faint.
"Malfoy's been regaling everyone about how you passed out on the train," Fred Weasley said, glaring at Malfoy.
"Don't worry," George Weasley said, smiling at Harry. "We'll tromp him first Quidditch match of the season. We're playing Slytherin."
"Ah, Harry. I was waiting for you," said Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. "Listen, If don't mind getting an early start on things, I want you on the field tonight right after dinner. I'm sure you're not rusty but I don't want there to be any chance of us losing the first match of the season."
Harry gave Oliver a thumbs-up and Oliver beamed. "This year! This year we will win the Quidditch cup! I can feel it!"
--
Outside, after lunch, Harry, Ron, Camille, and Hermione gathered around a paddock a little ways away from Hagrid's hut where about a dozen creatures that were half-horse and half-eagle milled around.
"They're beautiful!" Camille exclaimed, walking closer.
One of them, the horse body a magnificent palomino, walked up to Camille and bowed low.
"Bow back," Hagrid said, coming from his hut and watching Camille carefully. Since she couldn't hear, she wouldn't know if the beast was about to attack.
"What?" Camille asked, looking at Harry, who had tapped her shoulder insistently.
'Bow,' Harry replied, urgently.
Camille nodded and bowed, watching to see if the creature was going to do anything.
"What are they?" Hermione asked, cautiously stepping closer to the fence.
"Hippogriffs," Hagrid said, proudly. "Once everyone gets here, you can pet 'em."
At the fence, Camille gently reached out a hand and the hippogriff stepped nearer until it bumped her hand with it's beak. Stroking the hippogriff's head, Camille was unaware that the others were watching her, fascinated.
"I've never seen 'em warm up to anyone—'cept me—so quickly," Hagrid said, impressed.
"—believe Dumbledore is actually letting the great oaf teach," said the sneering voice of Draco Malfoy as he came down the hill followed by Crabbe and Goyle.
"Shut your mouth, Malfoy," Ron said, glaring.
"Why don't you make me?" Malfoy said, smirking. "I have to say… the four of you are almost too easy to make fun of. Granger's a mudblood, Dursley's a mudblood who can't even hear me insult her, Potter can't even retort to insults, and you, Weasley, are just too stupid, poor, and worthless to—"
A loud screech from the hippogriff Camille had been petting made Malfoy jump and when the beast reared back in it's hind legs, Malfoy ducked behind his two bodyguards who quickly backed up at a second screech. Looking at Camille's smiling face, Malfoy sneered. "Mudblood," He muttered.
'Sorry,' Camille mouthed, still grinning. 'Can't hear you.'
"As for you, you big, ugly, brute…" Malfoy said, stalking towards the paddock.
Suddenly, the hippogriff crashed over the fence and in a split second, Malfoy was on the ground, clutching his arm which was bleeding.
"Whoa! Whoa!" Camille shouted, hurrying over to the hippogriff. "Easy! Calm down! It's okay! Easy, girl." When Camille touched the hippogriff's feathers, it backed away a bit but screeched when Malfoy tried getting up. "Hey… ignore the mean, nasty human, okay?"
"Who are you calling—?" Malfoy said, wincing as Goyle pulled him to his feet.
"Go to the hospital wing, Malfoy," Ron said, still glaring.
'Well,' Harry said, watching the three Slytherins leave. 'That was certainly more interesting than reading tea leaves.'
--
After dinner that evening, Snape headed to his quarters and after a fire was burning in his fireplace, he sat down and pulled a bottle of single malt scotch and a glass towards him. Pouring a decent amount, Snape was finally starting to relax when he heard hooting coming from the bookcase behind him.
Getting up, Snape saw that the bird which was now perched on a bust of Edgar Allen Poe was a snowy owl. "'Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, in there stepped a stately raven, of the saintly days of yore.'"
The owl stared down at him, hooting lightly. After a moment, the bird swooped down and perched on the back of an armchair, golden eyes tinged with brilliant green looking around with curiousity.
Snape wanted to shoo the bird away but something made his stay put. Some hidden look in the bird's eye as it simply stared at him.
After another moment, the owl fluttered to the floor and a second later changed into a woman with Red hair and brilliant green eyes. "Hello, Severus."
Snape dared not believe his eyes; he'd had this dream before. "Well, you're no raven."
"No… an animagus," Lily said, sitting down in the chair. "Sit down, Sev… Let's talk."
"You're dead," Snape said, simply. "Therefore you're not really here. Which means I must be dreaming…"
Lily sighed, a smile teasing the corners of her mouth. "I assure you, I am here, Severus. I'm as real as you are."
Snape still couldn't believe it. Surely this was some trick… "When… when we stopped being friends…" he said, hesitantly, not wanting to hear the answer. "What… did I…?"
Lily's smile faded as she said, "You called me a mudblood."
Snape sank back into his chair, his heart clenching. "I never… I didn't mean to call you that. I'm sorry."
Lily sighed. "I know you're sorry, Severus. And I don't care about why you said it. What I want to know is… what are you doing here?"
Snape looked at Lily. "After you… I went to Dumbledore. I begged for mercy. He asked me to stay and teach. And…"
"And protect Harry when he finally came to Hogwarts," Lily finished.
Snape nodded. "Dumbledore told me to fetch him and his cousin. At first he would not explain why I had to go. When I saw that Potter—"
"Use my son's name," Lily said, a tiny snap in her voice.
"When I saw that Harry used sign language, I knew at once why Dumbledore wanted me to do it," Snape went on.
"Harry appreciates you," Lily said, quietly. "He doesn't like you… but he and Camille appreciate that you don't regard them as inferior or stupid."
"Loss of voice or hearing doesn't mean a loss of intellect," Snape replied. "And I must admit… Harry's… predicament makes him more… likeable."
"Let me guess…" Lily said with a wry smile. "You were prepared to hate my son because James was his father." At Snape's silence, she nodded. "I know why you hated James. Not because of anything that he did to you… but because in the end… James was the one I chose to be with."
"You were always the only person I ever cared about," Snape said, looking away. "And then he took you away from me…"
"Severus… I never cared about you that way," Lily said, sadly. "For a while… you were my best friend. Someone I could talk to about school, the wizarding world…" Waiting until Snape looked at her again, she added, "Thank you for helping Harry… for looking after my son."
Lily stood up and was almost to the door when Snape stood and asked, "Lily, do you forgive me for what I've done?"
Lily turned to face him. "I don't know yet," she replied, honestly.
--