Lilliana Snape (Harry Potter Book 1)

Part 1

A tall man with greasy black hair, a hooked nose and beetle black eyes was staring out of the window, watching the falling snow. A fire was blazing, lighting the room with an orange glow. There was an empty wineglass set upon a small wooden coffee table next to a plate with a half eaten biscuit which was left forgotten.

A shadow outside the window caught the mans attention and he watched carefully as the shadowy figure revealed a small basket from inside their cloak and set it in front of the mans front door and rang the doorbell.

The man went to answer immediately but as he opened the door a crack filled the silent night as the person disapparated leaving the man with black hair standing, staring at the basket which was filled with a lumpy blanket.

He bent down and picked up the basket and used his long, thin fingers to peel back the blankets to reveal a tiny sleeping baby. He stared at the child ‘what is this?’ he muttered to himself not looking best pleased with the gift he had been left. He stepped back inside and shut the front door and carried the basket into the fire lit room where he set it upon a large table set just under the window.

He moved swiftly over to the fire and scooped a draw string bag from the mantle, sprinkled some of its contents into his hand and threw it into the fire. Immediately the flames turned emerald green ‘Albus’ the man boomed ‘I need to speak with you…urgently’ and hurried back to the baby.

He pocked around the blankets for a few more moments before he found a note which read:

Treat her well as I could not.

Written neatly upon it.

‘Severus?’ The man turned and saw an elderly man dressed in aqua blue robes, with long grey hair and half moon glasses staring at him, looking concerned. ‘What is it?’

‘Somebody left this’ he picked up the basket and thrust it at the old man who took it cautiously ‘on my doorstep, Dumbledore.’

Dumbledore cradled the basket in his arms and blinked at the child inside ‘whose is it?’

‘She’ corrected Snape automatically ‘I don’t know, the person disapparated before I opened the door, but they left this’ he held out the note to Dumbledore. ‘I don’t recognise the writing, do you?’

‘No’ Dumbledore replied slowly

‘But what am I going to do with it?’ Severus asked

‘Well for one thing’ Dumbledore frowned as he handed the basket back ‘give her a name and stop calling her an it.’

Severus shook his head ‘I’m sorry, you think of a name…I can’t keep her.’

‘Why can’t you keep her?’

‘Children don’t like me!’

‘Then maybe a child will be good for you’

‘But what am I to do with her during term time?’

‘Assuming that you take her in as your own’ Dumbledore replied ‘bring her to Hogwarts until she is old enough to attend school, I am sure Madame Pomfrey will be more than happy to watch her when you are teaching.’

‘I can’t take Lilly’

Dumbledore smiled ‘Lilly, that’s a nice name…Lilliana will be her full name’

Severus wasn’t listening, he was staring at the tiny little girl in awe ‘she can’t be anymore than a few days’ he muttered ‘who would want to give away such a thing?’

‘Some one who is scared in this day and age’ Dumbledore sighed ‘not everybody is lucky enough to have a secret keeper like the Potters’

Severus snapped his eyes back to Dumbledore ‘what?’