Doubts:

When the door closed, Lucy opened her eyes. She stretched out and looked around. Severus was gone. She was wondering how long she could pretend to sleep before he noticed. She wasn't looking for another interrogation. She got up and made her way to the loo.

The girl she saw in the mirror looked even more like the woman in the locket than ever could Lucy remember. Tears welled in her eyes as she touched her locket. After a few moments, she composed herself enough to continue her mission. First, she needed to take care of her bodily needs. Then, she needed to investigate her new living situation.

She left the bathroom quietly, a habit she might never break. Her footsteps were careful and calculated, not meant to alert anyone around her to where she was. She opened the door across from the lavatory and turned the handle. There was a single bed, a small desk, and a wardrobe. The desk held a lamp one could reach from the bed. On the wall across from the end of the bed, a fireplace was lit. The room was warm, but not welcoming. Nothing hung on the stone walls, leaving the room without a touch of personality.

She closed the door and turned for the next one. The last door in the hallway opened to a room that was almost as bare as the first, albeit slightly bigger. No paintings and no windows. A lit fireplace warmed this room, too. Only the slightly wrinkled sheets that had been pulled back over the pillows and the feathers and papers at the desk hinted to a living occupant.

Lucy shut this door as she headed to the living room. There was no kitchen or dining room. Only a living room, two bedrooms, and a lavatory. A place for resting, but not really living.

She decided to try the last door, the one she assumed allowed her to leave the quarters. She stepped through the entrance and the door slammed shut behind her. She turned back, regretting her choice, but the door was gone. In its place, a blank stone wall stood before her. She took a deep breath and started walking.

The halls were empty. She found no one in the dungeons, so she made her way to the next floor. She heard noise coming from some massive doors, so she carefully moved past them. A couple of people in dark robes with red and yellow badges on their front came around the corner and Lucy ducked into a doorway. They went into the room with the big doors and the sounds of a crowd. Lucy smelled food.

Her stomach was empty but she couldn't brave it. She breathed deeply as she pushed off the door she hid in front of. She wasn't sure where to go, except not in the big doors. It sounded like someone was leaving the room, so she hurried to another set of big doors.

Outside, she felt some peace. It was early and she only saw a few others, but they were a ways away. She intended to keep that distance and turned away from them. She kept walking until she found the bank of the lake. She found a large rock to sit next to so she wouldn't be in view of the castle.

She wrapped her arms around her knees and put her head down. The gentle waves soothed her as she thought of what to do. Severus didn't seem like he wanted to hurt her. She thought she might be able to trust him. But she also wanted to trust her father.

Albus didn't make her leave, so that must mean something. He didn't seem to want to be around her much, but he didn't make her leave.

Madam Pomfrey nursed her to health. Surely she wouldn't do that to turn on her. But her father had also let her heal some while he left the house. For days, he would be gone. For days, she would grow increasingly comfortable. Sometimes, he even came back happy. Most times, he came back poorer and drunker.

Whimpering, she started to feel how chilly it was on the lake. By the castle, she must have been sheltered from the wind. Here, the wind cut through her shirt and pants like they weren't even there. Her tangled hair blew across her face no matter how much she tried to push it back.

xXx

Severus was reminded every day in this castle how much he did not want to have children. Yet, now he had a child in his quarters assigned to his care. Albus was old, but never before did Snape doubt his cognitive function. Calculated had always described his decisions and necessary were his actions. At least, that's how Severus justified his semi-forced allegiance to the man.

He didn't want to return to the Dark Lord's side, but he knew that if he ever did return that was where Dumbledore would place him. Severus looked down to where his faded Dark Mark would be seen if he didn't wear his cloak. When.

In another life, maybe he would have grown up to be some insignificant desk jockey at the Ministry of Magic. Maybe he could have been an Auror. Snape scowled at the thought. He wasn't cut out for that sort of career. He would have died a drunkard.

In this life, Severus has classes soon so he needed to check on the girl before he was busy teaching the other children in the castle. When he got to his quarters, he found no one. She was in none of the rooms. No trace of her remained. As if she was but a bad dream.

He shook that thought and went back to the hallway. The girl would've been hungry, so surely she would have sought out food. He would have known if she went to the Great Hall. She wouldn't have been able to go there without another spectacle. The children and out of the loop professors would've stopped everything for the new guest.

He turned to the kitchens. As he got closer, he realized she had no passwords, no secrets, and no magic. She couldn't get inside. If she hadn't had food in the Great Hall, she would have been made to go somewhere else. But where?

xXx

After a while, Lucy couldn't bear the chill anymore. She got up and brushed herself off. Hugging herself, she made her way back to the castle. When she got into the big entrance hall, she was greeted by Albus.

He smiled and extended his arm as an invitation into the room that still smelled so good. Lucy stayed where she was, not up for a crowd.

"Everyone is in class. Come," Albus said it gently, but she didn't feel like he was asking. She reluctantly followed him into the next room.

It was massive. Four long tables ran down the room and another table ran along the other end of the room perpendicular to the others. Floating candles lit the room and there was still some food on the table at the end of the room.

"I asked the house elves to leave some food at the high table for you." Lucy wasn't sure what a house elf was, but she was more interested in the food on the table than finding out.

It took everything in her to not run. She matched Dumbledore's place as he led her to the table. Once he finally sat in the middle seat, she sat in the seat to his left, as he indicated. She grabbed some eggs, sausage, and biscuits. She wasn't going to miss this chance to fill her belly. She wasn't sure when the next time would be.

Albus sat and hummed to himself as she ate, occasionally sipping some juice as he waited for Lucy to finish.

"Severus was worried you ran away." Lucy didn't look at the man in pear-colored robes. He continued. "I thought you could use some time to explore." She finally looked at him and saw he looked back at her with a bit of a challenge. She didn't correct him.

For another few minutes, they sat in silence.

Albus got up and the food disappeared from the table. Without a reason to stay, Lucy followed him out of the Great Hall and into an empty room on the next floor. Some desks were cleared of dust near the front, where a man and a cat sit at a teaching desk.

"Argus, this is Lucy. I thought you might have some valuable insight for our squib guest." Lucy looked at the middle-aged man petting the cat on the desk. He seemed anything but happy to be here. Albus smiled, "Thank you for your volunteering to welcome her to Hogwarts."