The Death and Resurrection of Lilly Belafonte

Severus slipped out of the castle through a rarely used door near the greenhouses. The moon was full and brilliantly white, but the rushing clouds cast strange flowing shadows over the grounds. His black eyes flashed up, half expecting to see the Dark Mark looming in the air, but there was nothing but the stars and the clouds. Perplexed, he cast a spell which would check all the wards on the castle and the grounds… and they were perfectly fine.

Now more irritated than concerned, Severus turned to go. As he opened the door, he heard a clanging at the gates.

Lilly had tried beating on the heavy iron gate with her fist, but it hurt her hand too much and made too little noise. She kicked it, with much the same result. Tears of frustration and stress began to slip down her cheeks as she fell to her knees in front of the locked portal. All her life she had prided herself on her uncanny ability to remain calm in just about any situation, but she realized she had never been in a really awful situation until now. She was terrified, chilled, sore, desolate, and disappointed in herself… and she considered the last to be the heaviest pain. With a shuddering sigh to end her crying, she reached up to wipe away her tears, and bumped her delicate wrist sharply on her belt buckle. She opened her mouth to curse irritably, but her grimace quickly turned to a smile.

Severus could sense that whatever was on the other side of the gate making that noise actually was, it probably wasn’t a Death Eater or a dark creature. The power was raw, wild, undisciplined, and distinctly young. So, without too much trepidation, he muttered the charm and sent the doors sailing silently inwards.

There was a girl there. She was young, about the age of the incoming first years, and slender. Short red hair swished just above her shoulders, framing a tanned, unique face that he supposed would probably be attractive when she was grown. She was wearing a white shirt and jeans, and, although he usually disapproved of muggle garb, it wasn’t outrageous or silly. Her comparatively long legs were planted firmly a little more than shoulder width apart, though her torso was rotated back a few degrees. Hanging loosely from her hand was a belt, which she had apparently been using like a whip to clang against the gates.

“Who are you, and why are you here?” Severus questioned sharply.

“My name is Lilly Andersen,” she said after a slight pause. He noticed her voice did not shake, and he was slightly surprised by this. “And… and I’m terribly sorry, sir, but I don’t know how I got here.”

The Potions master involuntarily arched an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon, Miss Andersen?”

“Sir, I was in Biloxi, Mississippi a few minutes ago, with my mother and my… and my father, and then my mother sent me here somehow. I didn’t Apparate, sir, but it was along the same lines, I guess.” She slowly began threading her belt back through her jeans, though she never took her eyes off the black robed wizard.

“Mississippi? You don’t sound like an American, Miss Andersen,” Severus remarked, a tad suspiciously.

“I was not born there, sir. I was born here. Or rather, south of here, in England. As was my mother, um, sir.” Lilly was more than a little frightened of this strange man who was clearly a wizard, but she was more worried about making a good impression. She hated the idea that she might appear ignorant or backwards in the eyes of this man who would hopefully be her rescuer.

Severus was perplexed by the whole situation, but he was becoming less annoyed as the conversation continued. This girl was clearly bright, eager to please, and self-possessed. On the whole, he usually did not approve of the second trait, but when that eagerness was directed towards him, he found it difficult to complain.

“And you say your mother… sent you here? Do you recall the spell?”

Lilly bit her lip subconsciously, glancing up and to the left. “Well, sir, I was under a bit of stress at the time, but… let me think…” She looked at the tall wizard, standing with his arms crossed, and made a slight apologetic bow before continuing to search her memory. “I think it was something along the lines of ‘Removeo tad Hogwarts’. It sounded kind of like that, at least. Do you know what it is, sir?”

Severus was growing more and more amused by this deferential little redhead. That is, until he realized what spell she was describing.

Ether transport.

It was very dangerous, very old, and very illegal. After the wizarding world had discovered the skill of apparation, ether transport had been banned. It was too imprecise and too risky, for one, but more importantly, it could easily be forced upon someone against their will. Grindewald had used it frequently, and, although Voldemort had employed it a few times, he had done it less because it required so much raw power to perform.

“Who is your mother?” Severus demanded coldly. Lilly immediately felt the shift and took a small step backwards.

“Marilyn Octaviana Andersen, sir,” the girl offered nervously.

The name did not sound familiar, but he could not rule out the possibility that this woman was somehow connected to Voldemort.

“Why did your mother send you here?” Severus questioned, his voice less frigid. But to his surprise, his milder tone did nothing to forestall the tears that suddenly began to stream down the face of this enigmatic little girl. She tried unsuccessfully to stem the flow, but her body was nevertheless racked with sobs. My mother, she thought helplessly. Suddenly, she realized she was crying in front of a complete stranger, which made the whole thing worse.

“I’m – sorry—sir. I—can’t talk—right now,” Lilly managed.

Severus was moved despite himself. He actually wanted to comfort her, though he had little to no skill with such things. Cautiously, slowly, he approached her as one might approach a stray kitten. She started to take a step back, thought better of it, and instead just sat down heavily on the path.

“Miss Andersen, allow me to escort you inside. I can find you a bed for the night, and you need not talk until tomorrow,” he offered softly, his tone as soothing as he could manage. He offered his arm to the girl on the ground, and she looked at it uncertainly for a few moments. Her tears subsided to sniffles, and she allowed him to help her to her feet.

“Can you walk?” he questioned, unsure if he should swing her slight body up into his arms and carry her up to the castle like a kind father.

“Yes, sir. Of course I can, sir. Honestly, that was just a fluke. I thank you for your hospitality," Lilly said formally. Although her voice did break once or twice from the crying, she was doing her utmost to be calm and coted,ted, and he smiled slightly down at the top of her head in the dark. Silly little girl.

“Very well, Miss Andersen. If you will follow me, please…”

Lilly awoke the next morning when the sun flooded her pillow. She yawned and sat up, slightly disoriented but otherwise well. She dimly recalled the events of the day before, though she tried to block out all that had taken place in her kitchen. She had hazy memories of walking up to the castle with the tall wizard, the great towers and battlements looming higher and higher and higher above her. She dimly remembered following his swift footsteps down corridors and staircases until she was completely disoriented. Her had led her here, to this bedroom, and bade her sleep. She had shyly reminded him about the time difference—that, according to her biological clock, it was no later than two in the afternoon. Easily remedied, he had remarked. You could use the rest at any rate, Miss Andersen. Drink this potion.

And she had slept, dreamlessly if her memory was to be believed, and now the day brought with it a host of its own dilemmas.

She had slept in her clothes, for lack of anything better, and now they were terribly wrinkled. Luckily, the wizard had placed a black robe over the foot of the bed, which she put on over her muggle outfit. Strange… it didn’t feel weird to her, wearing a robe. Lilly turned towards the mirror, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the wizard’s reflection behind her.

She spun on her heels and offered a hasty curtsy, glad that she had played royalty make believe with her mother when the other children were playing with dolls.

“Good morning, sir. Thank you for the—the potion, and thank you for the robe.” Her voice was a little raspy from sleep, and she desperately hoped her breath was alright.

“You are welcome, Miss Andersen. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, sir, I did. Er… sir, I’m afraid I’ve forgotten your name. Please forgive my--”

“You couldn’t have forgotten, because I never told you. You’re quick to blame yourself for things, aren’t you?”

Lilly blushed and lowered her gaze. “Better to blame myself and be right than to blame others and be wrong.”

“You may have a point, Miss Andersen. At any rate, my name is Severus Lanzer Snape, and I am the Potions master here at Hogwarts.”

“A pleasure,” Lilly offered automatically, though the conviction in her voice was genuine. “Sir? Do you shake hands? Here, I mean, where there are wizards…” her voice trailed off, uncertainly.

“In the wizarding world, you mean? Sometimes, though it is usually a practice only muggleborn engage in. Pureblood families—that is to say, wizarding families with no non-magical bloodlines—look down on the practice. They usually bow or curtsy.”

Lilly nodded, her gratitude apparent. She took a deep breath, and dropped into a deep curtsy. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Professor Snape,” she intoned quietly. Severus smiled indulgently at her respectfully lowered head, and performed and snd sweeping bow that sent his robes billowing out around him.

“The pleasure is mine, Lilly Andersen,” he replied. She straightened and smoothed her robe. Before she could speak, however, the door flew open, and an old wizard stumbled into the room, a giant bird dragging him along by the sleeve. The bird cawed in satisfaction and winged out of the room as soon as the old man was safely inside.

“Well, it seems like Fawkes here desperately wanted me to find you. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster here at Hogwarts and wizard extraordinaire.” Severus rolled his eyes.

“My name is Lilly Andersen. It is a pleasure to meet you sir,” she offered, and dropped into another full court curtsy, though Severus couldn’t help but notice with a twinge of pleasure that his proffered curtsy had been deeper.

“It seems you arrived in the middle of the night, Lilly.”

“Yes, sir.”

“From America, if the rumors are to be believed.”

“The rumors?” Severus snapped, annoyed. “Praytell, who knew enough to be spreading such rumors?”

“A little bird told me,” Dumbledore replied. Severus snorted.

“Bloody spy,” Severus muttered.

“And how did you come to be here, Lilly?” the Headmaster asked, ignoring Severus’s glower.

“My mother sent me here.”

“Why did she do that?”

Lilly took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and proceeded to tell both of them her life story, including all the bits about her drunken, abusive father, and what he had done at the end. She was proud, later, that she cried very little, and only had to sit on the bed instead of crumpling to her knees. There was a lot of pain, but it would have to be dealt with later, she told herself firmly.

When she finished her recitation, she quietly awaited the judgement and advice of the two wizards.

She could only hope they would not send her back. Though what life could be had here, out out her mother… she wasn’t sure what she wanted.


A/N
I know this is starting off a little slowly, but the next chapter will be a big one. In it there will be her first meetings with Draco, Hermione, Ron, and several others. It will have the Sorting Ceremony and a few scenes with the Slytherins. It will be a goody.

Francy- Thanks for your encouragement. I’ll keep writing as long as there is at least one reviewer, though others would also make me happy. Hint, Hint, People! ;-)