I breathed a nervous sigh.

Snape wanted to see me the next morning, and I wasn't sure why, hopefully it was not bad news.

'Enter.' came his voice from behind the door that I knocked upon, and I entered. Snape was sitting behind his desk, watching as I walked towards him.

'You wanted to see me, Professor?'

'Yes,' Snape replied 'Dumbledore and I have had a discussion about your return to Malfoy Manor this year, and we thought it , prudent, to change your living arrangements.'

'Well...I wasn't planning on returning to the Manor.'

'I had assumed that,' Snape said 'and, for the time being, it will best suited, for your safety, to come and live with me until then.'

Surprise hit me

'Wait-what?'

'You heard me correctly,' Snape continued 'as much to my dismay, I have to spend the summer with a student, it seems the best fit, until we can arrange for somewhere else for you to stay.'

'I...I don't know what to say...' I muttered 'thank you.'

'And the headmaster thought it, prudent, for you to have a trial stay at my home during Christmas.'

'Huh-oh, really?' I stumbled

'Unless you had, other plans.'

'No! No I don't.'

'Then that settles it,' Snape said 'pack your trunk, and meet me outside the boundaries of the school, we will be using side-along apparition.'

It as a surprise to learn I was to stay at Snapes, I had not expected it, and it was going to be strange indeed staying with my Professor, but it was safer than Malfoy Manor that is for sure.

'So you're staying at Snapes?' said Oscar, after bumping into him in the Entrance Hall 'Bit-odd-isn't it.'

'Well, just a little,' I replied 'I'm sure I'll get used to it, somehow, Malfoy Manor simply isn't safe any more, I can't say why, it just isn't.'

'You really have nowhere else to stay?' Oscar frowned

'No, there isn't. Look, Snape's waiting I have to go, I'll see you after the holidays.'

'Oh, yeah, I'll see you.'

Snape was waiting outside the boundaries of the school, and he extended his arm out for me to hold, my arm wrapped tightly around his own.

The next thing I knew, everything went black, and I was being pressed very hard from all directions, I couldn't breathe, there were iron hands tightening around my chest, my eyeballs were being forced to the back of my head, my eardrums were being pushed deeper into my skull, and then-I gulped great lung fulls of cold air and opened my streaming eyes.

Gasping, I doubled over slightly

'That, was apparition!?'

'Yes,' Snape replied 'come with me.'

He didn't wait for me to recover, and I followed him, nearby I could hear a river, and along the street were broken lamps, some flickering, the neighborhood looked-rough, to say the least, and I spotted an abandoned looking mill towering over the houses.

We stepped straight into a tiny sitting room upon entry, which had the feeling of a padded cell, the walls were completely covered in books, most of them bound in old black or brown leather; a threadbare sofa, an old armchair and a rickety table stood grouped together in a pool of dim light cast by a candle-filled lamp hung from the ceiling. The place had an air of neglect, as though it was not usually inhabited.

It certainly wasn't Malfoy Manor, that was for certain.

'Wormtail!' Snape demanded, making me jump in the process, the sound of footsteps scuttled towards the door, and there he stood. He was a very short man, hardly taller than me, His thin, colourless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes were something like a rats, and he gave me a nasty, sneering smirk that had me hiding behind Snape slightly.

'You were supposed to be gone by the time I returned.' Snape said in a soft, deadly whisper

'Believe me,' replied Wormtail 'I would have been gone sooner, but there was an issue at the Manor Narcissa didn't want me around for.'

Snape glowered at Wormtail, there was something about the hunched over man I didn't like immediately.

'I am sure it will be fine to return there now,' Snape said 'do not argue, tell her I sent you.'

Wormtail made his way to the fireplace, his eyes met mine briefly and he smirked again before disappearing in a burst of green flame.

'I will show you to your room.'

The days passed by in a slow, boring blur, somehow, Snape's home felt even more lonely than the Manor.

The house was a far stretch from the Manor, and I actually missed the creature comforts the Malfoy's provided. I was used to her king sized, four poster bed with the thick blankets-this bed was single, springy and somewhat stinky, I suspected a build up of dust.

Christmas arrived with snow outside the dark dwelling, and a single present had arrived for me, excitedly I unwrapped it to reveal a cases of chocolate cauldrons, with a note saying 'From Oscar'. I at and ate them, until Snape rose onto his feet towards the fireplace that burst into flame.

'Your assistance is required at Malfoy Manor, Snape, there's a meeting.' came Wormtail's voice, in which Snape cast a narrowed eyed stare at.

Snape clicked his fingers, and a House-Elf from the school appeared within a second.

'Watch over Morris until I return here.' said Snape 'I have business elsewhere.'

The House-Elf nodded, and Snape had disappeared through the fireplace.

'Er,' I muttered 'ever played exploding snap?'

I wasn't sure how long I was playing this game with the House-Elf, but a knock on the door pulled both of our attention.

'Don't worry, I'll get it.' I rose onto my feet, my wand gripped tightly in my hand 'I wonder if something happened to the Floo Network.'

I opened the door, expecting to see Snape standing there, then it hit me-why would Snape knock on his own front door and not just walk in?

The door knocked again, and, aiming my wand, I opened the door, realising there was no choice, the figure behind it would have seen my shadow through the glass.

'Hello girly.'

Fear shot through me at the sight of the towering figure, and I slammed the door on him

'Minky!' I cried as the door burst open and hurried into the living room 'Go back to Hogwarts, go now!'

Before Minky could move, however, the tiny House-Elf was knocked back by something that collided hard with her body 'No!' I grabbed the House-Elf and made for the back exit, but gasped upon opening the door, another, brutish looking fellow was standing there, blocking the way out, forcing me back into the the living room. I made a mad dash for the fireplace, setting the House-Elf aside in a secure corner.

'Reuben!' growled the familiar tone that made my skin vibrate unpleasantly, and I screeched, as a pair of claws sliced at the bowl on top of the fireplace, sending floo powder soaring all around the room, forcing me to cry out in agony at both the inhaling of powder, and searing pain along my arm, where I felt a hotness trickle down my skin.

I coughed, and held my chest as I inhaled an unpleasant amount of powder into my lungs, falling to my knees, gasping for air.

I glanced up through watery eyes, Fenrir Greyback loomed over me with a sinister smirk that his friend beside him reflected.

'You can thank Wormtail for the information of your whereabouts,' grinned the brute, who lowered and grabbed my hair, forcing me up to face him 'We're going to have some fun, you and I.'

Greyback flinched as spit pelted onto his face, and I cried at the hand that swiped the back of my head, after which he slammed me back onto the floor.

'What if he comes back?' Asked the other werewolf, as Greyback unbuckled his belt

'He'll be at the manor for awhile, there's a meeting and I'm not needed. Just keep watch.'

The force from the slamming of my head, and the searing pain coming from my arm, forced darkness to enclose around me.