To all my loyal readers and reviewers, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been going through a lot of stuff lately (including a cancer scare) that's really dragged me down. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. It's meant the world to me. I hope this chapter lives up to expectation - and that the explanation for at least Severus keeping the male name makes sense. This will get addressed again later on. Oh, and I think that true love can mean more than sexual/romantic love. So, that aspect of Severus' character will remain true, it just won't be quite the same as JK pictured it. Does that make sense?
Thank you once again.
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Lily and Severus sat together in the room, quietly studying their schedule. They didn't want to make another mistake and end up in the wrong class again. It was rather embarrassing to have made the mistake in the first place. It wasn't as if it was that difficult to read, so they weren't sure how they had gotten all mixed up.
But they didn't want it to happen again. "Do you think Alice knew we were supposed to be in transfiguration and not charms?"
"Nah, she'd have told us. I just hope that she realizes her error faster than we did."
Severus nodded, "That was rather bad to walk into the class with the second years."
"So, we have charms together and this class, but no others," Lily sighed. "When am I supposed to see you again? When I have a free hour, you're in herbology. When I have Defense Against the Dark Arts, you're free. How are we supposed to catch up?"
Severus didn't bother to point out that she'd already asked that question "Over meals," it was said with a shrug. Idly flipping through the book, she was looking to see if anything looked familiar to her. "And classes don't last all day. We are done by tea time."
"But it's not the same," she whined. "I thought I'd be able to see more of you, Sev, not less. Now that we're away from my piggy sister and your…parental unit, I thought we'd be able to have some un-spied upon fun. Petunia doesn't like you."
She scowled at the thought of Petunia Evans. Her screeching voice, the pinched thinness of her face, the very fact that she insulted Lily, it didn't take long for the girl to end up on Severus' list of those she despised. "Can't say I'm not surprised. I rather dislike her myself. She's a piggish bore."
She gasped in mock outrage. "That's mean."
"You say it all the time," she replied, confused.
"Yes – but I'm her sister. I'm allowed to do that. If you do, I have to defend her. And I really don't want to do that. Defending a truthful statement takes more creativity than I'm capable of," she trailed off as more students trickled in. A frown crossed her face as she saw four boys. Purposefully, she turned her back on them and hissed, "Don't look, Sev. It'll only encourage them to come over here."
Severus covertly glanced back at the four boys. They didn't look to terrible as they sat off to the side, teasing and jostling each other. It was hard to see which one of them was the ring leader but she finally ruled out the quieter young boy with brown hair and the stouter boy. The two of them didn't seem the kind to start trouble. Now, the one with the messy hair and glasses did – as did the boy with the gray eyes and black hair.
For all their joviality, she had a feeling that they weren't the kind of guys who let an insult slide.
And Lily had turned her back on them. Fair minded Lily who always gave others a chance. She knew from personal experience that Lily wasn't the kind of person to do that without good reason, she was one of those people who was friendly to everyone she met. Even if they never returned the kindness, her natural friendliness was just a part of her nature.
Somehow, the judgmental nature of her sister had escaped Lily.
"What's wrong with them?" she quietly asked.
"Those boys," she sniffed, "They're nothing but a bunch of bullies."
"Oh?" she asked, making a mental note to avoid them in the future should it prove necessary. That shouldn't be too hard to accomplish, right? "How do you know?"
She shrugged, letting her know that she didn't want to talk about it at that moment.
"Settle down, everyone," Professor McGonagall said. The class jumped, startled by her sudden appearance in their midst. No one had heard or seen her come in. "Now, scrolls out, quills at the ready. And I do mean now, Mr. Black. Mr. Potter. This class is not the time for you to practice any form of chicanery." Over the course of the next hour, she rattled off vocabulary terms.
She also listed the rules of Transfiguration for both people and items. "Nothing you learn in this class is to be used without careful preparation and thought. It isn't merely a matter of waving a wand or incanting a spell. You are literally changing the form of something, so you must be aware of the properties of what you are intending to turn it into. And the properties of the object you are transforming. Most importantly, you must understand that Transfiguration is not merely a spell disguising an item as something else. It is the process of turning one item into another."
By the time they left, Lily and Severus both had their minds full of many different things. "What did you think?"
"I didn't study enough," Severus moaned. "Her class is going to kill me."
Lily giggled. "You are such a fatalist, Sev. This is only the first day. Give it a shot before asking me to be chief mourner at your funeral."
"Hey, Lily!" one of the boys shouted. "Why didn't you sit with the class?"
"I wasn't aware that I had ditched class, Potter – not that its any business of yours. Come on, Severus," she grabbed her arm and dragged her along.
"Everything okay, Lily?" she asked after they'd covered quite a bit of ground.
"I'm fine," she snapped, "Why?"
"No reason, except that you have to go to potions and I have History of Magic," she quietly responded.
Lily slowed down, coming to a stop. Her eyes darted around the place, trying to find anything recognizable in the hallway. "Sorry. That was James Potter – and he's an arrogant tease. So, I'll see you at lunch?"
"Yeah, we can do something after while waiting for charms." Severus pulled her along the hallway, her feet finding the way easily. "You can't let him get to you – that's what he wants, remember? That's what you're always telling me about the bullies from school."
"Of course," she nodded, taking a deep breath. It was obvious that Lily was still upset but regaining her equilibrium. "I've just never been on the receiving end of it. No wonder it bugs you so much."
"Or may be I'm just to sensitive," she shrugged, stopping in front of the potions class. "Either way, here you are. I'll see you later, Lily. Have fun – and take copious notes for me! I want to get a good grade."
Lily shook her head, "You worry to much. See you at lunch." Lily walked in after making sure that Severus was heading back upstairs.
"Severus," Lucius called out, watching as the first year practically crashed into a wall skidding to a stop at his call. "Perhaps you should take the corners slower. The last thing you want is to gain a reputation for recklessness. Leave such things to the Gryffindors."
Panting for breathing, she gasped out. "I'll remember that, Mr. Malfoy, thank you for your advice."
"Well, you have all the markings of a Slytherin, even if you have another house to live in. Tell me, why the mad dash through the school? If there are students bothering you, I can take care of them for you," he offered, waving his companions on.
"No," Severus was quick to say, noting the look the two women were giving her. The dark haired woman dismissed her almost immediately, but the woman with the pale blond hair was looking at her as if she was some species she wanted to dissect. "I'm just trying to get to class on time."
"It's the first day, Severus. You can afford to be late," he replied, staring into her eyes. While not in the same league as his father, Lucius did know a bit about occlemency and while he held her gaze, he did a little digging. If for no other reason than to find out just what was going on in her home life – other than the obvious.
"No, I don't," she stated. It was no surprise for him to hear the pure fear there.
Lucius almost felt the lash himself as it flashed to the forefront of her mind. "Then allow me to show you a faster, more safer route," he offered, glancing back when he heard a dismissive snort. A calculating, cold smile crossed his face as he noticed the dismissive look in their eyes. "But first, allow me to introduce you to my companions, Bellatrix and Narcissa. My ladies, this is Severus Snape – the Prince heir. Severus, this is Bellatrix and Narcissa Black."
"Honored to meet you," she bowed to them.
"Charmed," Bellatrix's voice was bored and spoke for her sister, though she did not catch the considering look in Narcissa's eyes. "We'll see you in the Common Room, Lucius."
It sounded rather like an order to Severus.
"Shall I call your father?" Narcissa quietly asked, keeping her eyes on Severus.
"Please," he replied. They watched her disappear before he extended his arm. "Shall we?"
Barely managing not too audibly swallow, Severus accepted the offered arm and walked beside him meekly, feeling more than a little self-conscious. Tobias was going to beat her bloody and raw for this, she just knew it. There was no way he was going to accept this as anything but an attention getter.
Safety was over.
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"Sev, why did Mr. Malfoy take you to class?"
"I guess he felt sorry for me or something, Lily. He mentioned something about how if I was bullied, he'd take care of it." She sighed in relief as she slipped off her the shoes that were several sizes to small but had been all she could afford from the money she found in the house.
"Uhm, Sev, he's a Slytherin. I don't think they're known for kindness."
"He did say that I was born a Slytherin," she reminded her, brushing her fingers through the grass. "I suppose he's trying to bring that out in me. Does it matter?"
"Yes," Lily said. "The Slytherins aren't known for being good for good's sake. They're more evil than that."
"Then why be nice to me? I don't even have the redeeming value of pure blood to make it worth their while," Severus protested.
"I don't know," she finally said, "Something just feels off."
"That someone is actually interested in me? A person who doesn't want to bully me?" Severus asked, almost bitterly.
"No, that's not what I meant at all," Lily protested. "Stop putting words into my mouth."
"Then stop being a sheep," she snapped. "Slytherins can't all be bad."
"Oh, yes, they can," a voice interrupted them. "James Potter, and you are?" Strangely enough, he was without his friends. Even though it was the first day of school, it had become an acknowledged fact of life that James Potter was never without Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.
Lily was instantly suspicious.
"Severus Snape," her reply was cold.
"Severus?" James mocked. "You are smart enough to know that that's a boy's name, right? Or don't you have the brains to know that?"
"You're acting like he's a boy named Sue."
"It's a family name that I have no choice about having," she replied through tight lips, her voice icy over Lily's words. "My intellectual level has no bearing upon this matter. As for our discussion, it really doesn't concern you."
"It is if you're trying to convince Lily here that Slytherin is good," he said, sitting down with them.
Severus shook her head at his rudeness. "I'm not doing anything of the kind – but I don't think they can all be bad. No one is born evil. Look at Merlyn. He's one of the most powerful wizards – but he's half-demon. So, why did he use his power for good? He certainly didn't have to – no one could have made him be good.
"But he did. May be it was because he was well treated in his youth by people who didn't believe he was bad just because his father was an incubus."
"Merlyn wasn't a half-demon," James protested.
"Don't you know anything of Arthurian Legends? He was fathered by an incubus," Lily said. "Even I know that. Look it up if you don't believe us."
The bell rang, summoning them to class. As she shoved her feet back into her shoes, she felt eyes staring at her. Looking up, she met Potter's hazel eyes, "What?"
"You're weird for a Ravenclaw," he replied. But he held out his hand to pull her to her feet. His mother raised him to be a gentleman and, most of the time, he did remember that.
"Am I?" she softly asked, following after the arguing Gryffindors at a slower pace. I thought Hogwarts was going to be different, she thought. Instead, it's like every other school I ever went to. I'm just the weirdo with the friendly, popular friend. Severus wondered how long it would be before Lily would tire of her.
Entering the class, Severus sat in the back row, watching as Lily went to sit next to Alice. Lupin was sitting on the other side. James joined Sirius and Peter a few seats away, gesturing wildly. Probably regaling them of his courageous attempt to save the beautiful Lily from the spell of the ugly changeling, she bitterly thought.
With a sigh, she pulled out her quill and a parchment. Not surprisingly, no one sat beside her.
"Good afternoon," Professor Flitwick said as he entered. "Sorry I'm late, had a bit of trouble in the hallways with Peeves. Seems he thought it would be a good idea to let in some gnomes."
"Good afternoon, Professor," they greeted him, watching curiously to see what he would do. In transfiguration, they had seen an example of an animagus. Professor Slughorn had demonstrated a rather fiery potion, and Professor Androcles had brought in a miniature dragon.
Professor Binns had…well, he had managed to not bore anyone to death.
So, they were curious to see what their charms teacher would do. Most were disappointed when he began with a lecture of the history and profession of charms, until he started demonstrating the spells he was talking about.
Severus was in note taking heaven. She wasn't so pleased with the demonstration, though she knew that they needed to see practical application. To her, learning how and why the spells worked was more important than the swish and flick aspect of spell casting. Which, she supposed, was another sign that made her downright un-wizardly.
It could have something to do with her muggle upbringing but Lily loved all aspects of it, so she rejected that. Besides, she'd often performed spells to keep her father happy and off her back. Also, she had done it because her father threatened her. He wanted to prevent the Ministry from investigating her mother's disappearance, something she didn't quite understand.
After all, there had to be other magical beings who chose to use their magic while living in the muggle world. What would it matter if one had stopped doing so? What had made Eileen Prince Snape so peculiar that even the Malfoys had a degree of respect for the family?
The class ended and Severus rose, organizing her notes. Putting everything in her bag, she waited for the students to file out. From past experience, she knew it would be easier to navigate the hallways if they were mostly empty. Not to mention, she had a few questions for Professor Flitwick about what happened to witches and wizards who performed underage magic.
"Sev, come on," Lily urged, grabbing her arm. "Class is over."
Gently extricating herself, she gave her a half-smile. "I have to talk to Professor Flitwick about something."
"He's your Head of House, talk to him later," she said.
"I'll lose my nerve if I wait," she quietly replied, knowing Lily would understand.
"Okay – I'll wait outside for you," Lily nodded and left, unable to keep her worry from showing. After their conversation earlier, Severus wasn't going to ask to about resorting. Was she? She couldn't possibly believe that she'd be happier in Slytherin, could she?
Once the class was empty, Severus made her way steadily up the walk and towards his desk. "Excuse me, sir?" she asked, already feeling her nerves taking control. She hoped that she could get her words out before she fled in panic.
He looked up at her, smiling merrily at her. The tension in her shoulders concerned him and he did his best to put her at ease. "Ah, yes, if it isn't the young Snape. Quite a stir you caused during the sorting last night. I don't think I've ever seen the Baron or Professor Slughorn so consternated. I thought he was going to ask for a resorting right there and then before Headmaster Dumbledore pointed out that the Hat sorts by the students' personality and personal choices."
Severus twisted her fingers, looking down. "I don't mean to be such a bother, sir."
"Oh, no trouble at all," he reassured her. "Now, is everything all right with you? Are you settling in well?"
"Yes, sir. The room is nice and my roommates have been nothing but kind to me," she replied. "Sir, what happens to a student who performs underage magic consistently?"
"They get several warnings, may be a severe reprimand, possibly even a suspension of their wands," he replied, looking at her in concern. "Why? Is everything all right?"
"Yeah, I guess…thanks, Professor Flitwick," she turned to go. Numb. She felt completely and utterly numb.
"Severus, have you been practicing magic?" he asked. "If something is wrong, you can trust me to help you make things right. That's what I'm here for."
On trembling legs, she chewed her lip and debated over her next move. Telling Professor Flitwick had sound so good in her head. But after hearing about what would happen to her if they knew what she'd been doing since her mother died, she wasn't so sure anymore.
Could an underage witch be sent to Azkaban?
"If anything comes up, I'll tell you. Thank you, sir." Walking out, she left behind a confused professor – and nearly missed Lily waiting for her. At the touch of her hand, she only shook her head. "I don't want to go to prison," she whispered, holding her books close to her, almost as if they could shield her.
"Prison?" Lily repeated. "What are you talking about?"
In a halting voice, Severus told her what Flitwick had said. "I've been doing magic for so many years, not once receiving warnings from the Ministry of Magic. How could they do anything but see it as an act of insolent, insubordination? I'll go to prison for what I've spent my youth doing."
"Did you tell Professor Flitwick?" she asked, pulling her into a half-hug.
"How could I? Professor Flitwick would have no choice but to turn me in." Severus fell silent, wanting nothing more than to escape. The strangest sense of being unable to breath filled her. "I'm sorry but I have got to get out of here."
"Not without me, Sev," Lily followed her. They made their way to the Greenhouse and sat down, basking in the sunlit shade. After a while, she pulled out a book and read it out loud, Severus' head leaning against her shoulder.
As night slowly fell, Severus cleared her throat. "We'd better go in before someone misses us. I'm afraid I worried Professor Flitwick something awful with my behavior."
Lily was silent. "You need to tell someone, Sev. If they find out from someone else, you'll be in real trouble. This isn't a joke."
Slowly, she nodded. "I know – but who do I trust?"
Lily knew the obvious answer was the Headmaster or her Head of House. But Severus' life had been full of nothing but betrayal from adults. People who noticed something was wrong, got her to talk – and then believed Tobias over the proof of their own eyes.
"What's this? First Years?" Hagrid's friendly voice sounded above them. "You best be getting inside now, don't want to miss the Evening Feast. Down, Fang, they won't hurt you."
Lily gaily laughed, reaching out a hand to pet Fang. "Is he shy?"
"Fang? Nah, he's just a big coward," he answered, watching them – especially Lily. He'd never seen Fang take to anyone like he was to the redhead. Not even Dumbledore had been able to pet him after meeting him, it had taken the Headmaster years to earn the dog's trust.
"That's strange for a bloodhound," she finally commented. "My dad says they're one of the bravest breeds around."
"Is that right?" he asked, scratching his chin. "Fang's one of a kind then. Now, you'd best be getting along before your House Heads report you missing."
Grabbing Sev's hand and hauling her to her feet, she pulled her along. "I'll visit you tomorrow, Fang!" she promised when he made to follow.
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Author's Note : I lean on my sister's shoulder – she leans on mine – all the time. Hope you liked the brief glimpse of James Potter and that I handled his character well without going overboard. As a Severus Snape fan, I'm not really fond of JP but I try to keep him human. As he will show up a few times in later chapters, we'll see how I do. My version of Merlyn is based on the older legends of him, not the new show that's being made by the BBC. Though I was able to catch a few episodes when it was on basic TV and rather liked it, wished that we'd been able to keep it. Instead, it moved to cable and my family doesn't believe in cable. As he is one of the greatest wizards of all times, I think that they tend to overlook his rather unnatural parentage because it doesn't fit in with their concept of good.