Professor Flitwick anxiously watched the doors to the Great Hall. The tables were full of students, chattering and laughing. But he wasn't fully attending. His mind recycling the conversation he'd had with Severus earlier. He couldn't escape the feeling that there was something he missed. It didn't help that he'd gone to see Albus about the matter and there was no real information from him about the Snape family.

A sigh of relief escaped him when he saw Severus and Lily enter with the stragglers. He watched as they parted. Severus sat at one end of the table. With concern he noted how some of the students slid to the side, giving her a wide berth. How could his house not accept one of their own?

The frown deepened when he noticed the small portions of food on her plate. Yes, the food chosen would be filling but her portions were all wrong. They were too small for one her age and what he knew was an ideal weight. All of these things pointed to one thing. And he didn't like what that was.

"Filius, is everything quite all right?" Minerva's voice penetrated the fog of thoughts clattering for attention in his mind.

"Hmmmm?" he asked, looking at her curiously.

"Are you all right?" she repeated.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"You don't seem quite yourself this evening," she replied. "Why, you've hardly touched your food – and I had to call you several times before you heard me. Are the students proving troublesome?"

"No, they are still the same high spirited, rambunctious children they've always been. Minerva," he hesitated before asking, "What do you know about the Snape family? And the Prince family?"

For a moment, her face bore a puzzled look before it cleared as she followed his gaze to Severus Snape, sitting alone at the table. "As far as our records show, they only had one child. Everyone of the Prince family bloodline has only one child, so Eileen is the only one. I believe that they were among those hidden followers of Grindelwald who'd been arrested at last. After she graduated, she disappeared for a few years only to reappear, magically active as ever. Married to a muggle, she never set foot in our world again. Why? Is Severus creating problems?"

She did not think it likely. Unlike the rest of the students, the girl had been studious and quiet during her lecture and demonstrations. Then again, first impressions weren't always the most accurate. She shuddered, thinking of Sirius Black. How that boy had ended up in Gryffindor was beyond her – his family was born and bred with Slytherin in mind.

The shrill voice of Mrs. Black echoed in her head still. Accusing her of somehow tricking the Hat into sorting her son into the wrong house as revenge, anger still colored her cheeks as she remembered the words exchanged. The utter gall of that woman to accuse her of such things and on top of it all, to disparage her house. It was enough to make Minerva wish that she wasn't a lady and could break that creature in two instead of behaving in a decent and hospitable way.

Filius looked at her, "I'm not sure but I think Severus is the one in trouble. The one who needs our help."

"Has she told you that?" she asked, thinking of ways to bring this to the Headmaster's attention without bringing attention to the student or causing trouble for her. Professor Slughorn would have a field day if he thought he was right about Snape being sorted incorrectly. And she wondered about his intensity. It was odd – and hardly the genial man's way.

"Not in so many words for I fear that she doesn't know how to ask for help. But there was something in how she said what she didn't say that leads me to believe that she needs help," he finished.

"Could you at least try to speak plainly," she exasperatedly said. Minerva was fond of riddles in a distant way. But there was a fine line between what she was willing to tolerate and what she enjoyed. When it came to serious matters, there was no toleration for them. And a student in danger, even if it was one who was not in her house, was a serious matter indeed.

"Just look at how she acts, Minerva. In her case, actions speak louder than words," he told her. Filius didn't know how else to say it. "I think she's being abused."

Minerva's fork clattered to her plate in shock. Abuse was such an ugly word. And, if it was true, a perversion on their magic. It was a dark taint upon them and one the dark ate at, constantly drawing the witch or wizard into the darkness. "How could this be?" she asked, ignoring the concerned looks of the other teachers. "Do we no have guards in place to ward against such happenings?"

"No magic is one hundred percent guaranteed, Minerva, even if its source is from the dark," he sadly said. "And if she lives in the muggle world, which is highly patriarchal, that authority would take precedence over our magic."

"Do you want me to talk to her?" she offered. "Perhaps she would feel more comfortable talking to a woman."

"Thank you for the offer but I don't think it'll work – you're an authority figure. One whose power is higher than my own," there was no hurt in his words for he acknowledged that she might have a point. As a woman, it might be easier for her to get Severus to speak up. But to his perception, the problem with Severus is that it was an authority figure who was causing the trouble if what he thought was true. She would have a difficult time talking to Minerva, even a healer such as Poppy would have a hard time getting her to open up.

She sighed, understanding his words and hating it. "So, what are you going to do? Talk to Mrs. Snape?" she asked.

"I don't know. Is there anything I can do?" he asked. "If she doesn't admit that anything wrong is happening, talking to her parents won't help the situation. Until we have something concrete to build upon, the Ministry won't support our actions. As ineffectual as they are, they are the link to the outside world. There's only so much we can do without their help."

They watched as Severus rose and left the room, angled towards the library. Lily followed a few moments later. "Perhaps I'll talk to Lily, prod her for information without being invasive. They seem to be close, so she might talk. At the very least, she could tell Severus that we are worried. I won't tell her it's from you but that I was worried about her eating habits."

"They do seem rather close," he agreed slowly. "Why is Lucius looking so vexed?"

"I don't know – but Horace doesn't look happy either." Minerva gestured towards the Slytherin head of house.

Horace looked miserable, even more so when he met Lucius' look of contempt. There was an uncomfortable shift as he moved restlessly in his seat.

Minerva and Filius exchanged looks, "Something's not right with him."

"Why would Lucius care about Severus though? Charity is hardly the strong suit of his family. I don't like this, Minerva. I don't like this at all," Filius worried even as he forced himself to accept that until she asked for help, there was nothing he could do. It pained him but his hands were tied.

Lily ate and chatted with Alice, occasionally nodding to something Remus said, mostly ignoring James and Sirius as they horsed around. And worried over Severus. Why would she be so worried about prison? "Alice, can they send a student to prison for practicing magic outside of school?"

Alice looked at her, "Where did you get an idea like that? The worst they could do is suspend your wand, but you're given several warnings before it comes to you that."

"So it's not a law?"

"It is in the way that it is to protect us from exposure," Remus quietly said. "But it's not an actual law that they can prosecute us for."

Lily nodded slowly, as though what they said made sense. But what Remus and Alice said did not make sense with how Sev had reacted to her talk with Professor Flitwick. Was it possible that she had overreacted because she misunderstood what he said? Sev had a habit of doing so, even if there was a good reason for it.

Leaning forward to rest her chin on her hand, she ate and pondered things, ignoring the curious looks and conversations around her. Something was not right with this situation but there was nothing she could do, no other place to look for answers. It irked her because she was used to being Sev's champion and solving her problems with her, sometimes for her. The only exception was Tobias Snape.

On the other side of the room, Lucius sat, watching both first year students. Just what had gone wrong for them that they'd missed gathering for afternoon tea and had been late for dinner? His eyes narrowed, not liking the thoughts that he might have to exert his not inconsiderable power to protect the Gryffindor.

And not just any Gryffindor – because he knew that Slytherins had sponsored members of that house before – but a lowly mudblood one. That had never happened, even in their own house. They did not help mudbloods. Yet as long as Snape was loyal – and his father interested – Lucius would have to bite back his inclinations and do it.

But not yet.

It was obvious that Snape was not welcomed in her house – and she was far from comfortable being where she was. The problem could have been hers rather than the mudblood girl's. To him, that made more sense. Hardly anyone picked on Gryffindors, save their natural enemies in his house.

But then, they picked on everyone.

"Lucius, what is your problem?" Bellatrix asked, voice sharp with irritation.

He slowly turned towards the teacher's aid, ice in his voice and eyes. "As it is my problem, I hardly see it as a concern of yours, Black. There are matters I have that do not concern you. Kindly respect that."

"Do not take that tone of voice with me, Malfoy," her voice lashed out, sharply autocratic. "I have known you for years. Sponsoring a Ravenclaw, especially a pasty faced, half-blooded one, is not you. What is going on?"

"I told you earlier," he said. "If you did not catch what I was saying, how is that my fault? Your sister understood my words, why didn't you?"

Bellatrix shot a look at Narcissa who sat on the other side of the table. On her face was a look of calm superiority. It galled her that her younger sister – the youngest sister at that – had figured something out that she had not.

"Severus Snape is King's Own," Narcissa kindly – albeit in a sunny, smug voice – explained. "She should be in our protective fold and is not."

Upon hearing that, Bellatrix took another look at the Snape freak. A second glance did nothing to improve her opinion of the girl. "From what source are you getting that nonsense?" her question was scathing. "She hardly looks capable of doing a rudimentary spell, much less serving as the intermediary for our world into the ether world. That post is far to important for such a straggle tag."

"My source is my father," he coolly and acidly informed her. "As well as the passing of certain tests."

The second sentence was hardly necessary. Tradition dictated that one family served as guide and protector for King's Own. For the past forty-five years, that had been the Malfoy family. Eileen Prince had escaped Abraxas' tight hold on her but she was dead, not that the Ministry knew that. Or would admit to it should they actually know, though she doubted it.

The current leadership couldn't find their butts with a compass, map, and a finding spell. They'd be lost even if someone pointed to it and stuck their hands upon it.

Their failure to control Eileen Prince had made Lucius' determination to gain Snape's confidence all the more understandable. If they couldn't gain her confidence, there would be another fight and the outcome was not at all assured now that Gryffindor was back in prominence. Bellatrix shuddered, remembering the stories passed down to her of how things had been when King's Own was influenced by the Creevy family or, far worse, the Potter family.

"So, how are you going to win her? These things always work better when King's Own has been raised in our world," she pointed out. "And the differences in your school years makes that task far more difficult."

"It doesn't help that she is uncommonly attached to a Gryffindor mudblood," Narcissa pointed out unhelpfully. The shudder she gave that her sister matched was not affected. Like all Slytherins, she had no use for mudbloods – especially the hypocritical Gryffindor ones.

"How disgusting," Bellatrix sneered at their table. "Has no one in her family taught her about the folly of associating with lessers?"

"With her mother dead and no one in her rightful family acknowledging her existence, who could tutor her? It took my father this long to find her," he did not mention what he'd discovered in her mind. Neither female was the kind to be sympathetic. Bellatrix, in fact, was the kind to wonder why the girl didn't just kill her father for what he was doing to her.

It was something she would have done and quite gleefully at that. "My father has taken steps to ensure that this does not continue much longer. As for the Gryffindor, father advises us to leave her alone. The last thing we need is for King's Own to draw away because we are attacking her friend."

"Is she so frail a creature that she cannot take proper direction?" Bellatrix demanded to know.

"She's too muggle to take it properly," Lucius sharply corrected. "Far to muggle to be manipulated and guided just yet. With time, I shall find a way to work around that. But you must remember one thing – that girl was sorted into Ravenclaw for a reason."

Later on in the week, she was sitting by the lake, watching as stones stepped along the surface, breaking the calm. The distortion of the water gave her only a minimal warning of Lucius' our arrival.

"Is everything all right, Severus?" he asked, sitting down on the damp of grass gingerly.

"I broke the law, Mr. Malfoy," she dully said.

"Ah, I see. And which law would that be?" he asked. His mind already going through a list of the witches and wizards they had under their control and who they could frame for the crime. It would have to be some one low enough that no one would object to their being arrested, stepped it enough to go along with that, but smart enough to be believed.

"The one about underage magic. I didn't know I was doing anything wrong. You must believe me, I never saw the ministry's messages. I was aware of the owl's arrival every once in a while, but nothing more than that. I did not know that I was in error," she beseechingly said, turning to him. "My father told me it was all right."

Lucius exhaled, rather relieved that she'd committed no actual crime. "Severus, I have no idea where you got the idea that it was an actual law but you have nothing to fear. As long as you had parental consent – and no muggles ever caught you – there is no harm in what you did."

"But the professor said," she started.

"Trust me," he interrupted. "Our professors sometimes use scare tactics to make us behave. I will also not deny that the Ministry would prefer that we do not use magic until we have proven our control but it is hardly a capital offense worthy of a sentencing to Azkaban. I am sure that you're magic was just small things. What did you do, if you don't mind my asking? If that is pushing your sense of comfort, would you at least tell me how often you used magic?"

"Every few months or so, father demanded," she swallowed the words at the threat of a whipping down, "That I practice." After a moment, she listed the things that she had done on his orders. Her head was averted so she did not see how pale Lucius was becoming.

It was clear to him that Tobias Snape knew very well who his daughter was and that he hardly cared. But he obviously cared enough to keep the wards up so that no one would realize that his wife was dead. His father was going to have a fit when he heard all of this. He became aware of her curiously wary gaze upon him and the silence that had fallen between them. Clearing his throat, he looked at her. "Put this out of your mind, Severus, for you are in no danger. Would you trust me to take care of any problems that might arise?"

She nibbled her lip, wondering just how far she should trust the devil that was Lucius Malfoy. Bigoted the opinion may have been but the Gryffindors were right – Slytherin was hardly a house to trust. One would have to be desperate – or foolish – to ask them for help. Unfortunately, Lucius was the only one who offered to help who had the power to actually do so.

The question was, what price would he exact from her for that aid?

She didn't have much to offer him, save for herself. Was she really willing to trade one master for another? Did she really have a choice? It was ultimately the realization that the answer was no. If she wished to be able to be free, to learn and grow, she couldn't afford to be in trouble with her father or the Ministry. "On one condition – that no harm comes to my friend, Lily Evans. If anything happens to her that you could've prevented, I will take it out on you. I don't know how I'll do that but make no mistake – I will make you pay."

"Agreed," Lucius accepted her hand, feeling a frisson of power travel between their palms.

Lily stood in the shadows, unable to hear them but shivering in the wind. Something not quite right was happening, something had shifted and she couldn't help but fear for Sev's welfare. If only…she couldn't finish that thought and moved forward, a smile pasted on her face as she approached the two. "Morning, Sev," she greeted, nodding at Lucius, wondering what he would do for she well remembered the disdain and dismissal on his face when they'd met on the train.

"Good morning, Miss. Evans. I shall see you later, Severus." He rose, brushing off his robes and left them alone.

"What's going on, Sev?" she asked, trying to sound naturally curious instead of demanding.

She tossed a stone and watched it skip across the lake, only looking up after it had sung beneath the water. "We were just talking," her words were quiet, "About underage magic."

"Oh?" she encouraged, thinking that this was not good. She knew that Sev had been worried, terrified even, but had thought she'd convinced her to seek help from their teachers. What did she think Malfoy could do for her that they could not? "What did he say?"

"That it was not an actual law, more of a scare tactic. That as long as I had parental consent and did not use it around non magical beings, it was all right. He assured me that it wasn't a punishable offense. I feel so stupid for reacting the way I did. We're wizards, magic is going to happen because of that." She leaned forward, resting her head on her raised knees.

"Why? Because you didn't know something? You're human, dummy, don't be ashamed to act like one," she scolded, dropping down to sit beside her.

"Am I? Human?" she asked, looking at Lily, "Sometimes I wonder about that."

"You're a ninny, that's what – but definitely human," she replied.

Severus shook her head. "How can you be sure? Nothing is ever what it appears to be – especially among wizards."

Expelling a breath, she stared back at her, a fierce look in her eyes. The darkening of the green always reminded Severus of the heat of blue flame and she shivered, wondering once again at the strength of Lily's magic. "Because I know you," she said. "Sure, you're a little bizarre, mope far too much, and spend way too much time with your head buried in books, but you're my friend. So shut it and come play with me."

"I don't mope," she huffed.

"Fine," Lily retorted, "You pout."

"Pouting is for infants," Severus protested, "And spoiled children."

"And Ravenclaws who don't get their way," Lily said. "Tag! You are it!" Lily got up and dashed across the field, a challenge clear in the tilt of her head. Severus stared after her for a second before following her, a reluctant laugh escaping her.

Abraxas Malfoy waited in his study, a glass of cognac in his hand as he waited for news. To others, his posture may have spoken of his anxiety. He would admit to no such weakness. To do so would be to admit that he was at a loss on how to handle this problem and he would never lower himself to such plebian emotions.

Crabbe cleared his throat, waiting respectfully in the doorway to be acknowledged and invited in.

Abraxas waved his empty hand, indicating the dark leather chair across from him negligently. "Did you have any luck in ascertaining the address of the Snape family?" The question was sharp and to the point, wasting no time on formalities. Crabbe was his information man, not his guest.

"We have narrowed it down to three locations. As you predicted, the protective spells have weakened over the course of her time in school. The most likely location is a place called Spinner's End. It is close in location to the mudblood's house."

"I want confirmation, Crabbe. My patience is wearing thin with these delays as the news from my son increases, telling me of abuse. If we are to regain control of King's Own and present her in loyalty to the Dark Lord, she must be removed from that hostile environment. Dumbledore's power was not the only reason Grindelwald was defeated so badly. It cannot happen again, such a defeat would be ignominious."

The silence was an agreement.

Author's Note: Sorry for the long silence, I have like 10 or 11 other works that have been cramming and screaming for attention. I will try to update this story more regularly but can make no guarantees. I was also doing some research about abuse victims because one of my reviewers told me that a victim knows its going to happen no matter what and that they wouldn't be able to avoid it. While that is true, my research has revealed that it doesn't stop them from hoping that they can stop it if they just do the very best they can. If they do what the abuser wants, it will stop.