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Chapter Text

The Cousin Conspiracy

Chapter 1

She came into the world gasping and trembling. How could she be alive? At least, she should be in the hospital.

Looking around, everything was wrong. She was not in the hospital like she should have been, but in a bedroom. It looked like it came out of the Victorian era with its intricate emerald tapestries. She lay in a king sized bed, making her feel small with how little she took up.

 At the same time, everything was familiar. It was her bedroom for the past 15 years which made no sense. An orphan girl like her could never have afforded such luxuries.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her hand, causing her to flinch.

“It’s okay, Lobelia. You just had a nightmare,”

That was not her name, but at the same time, it was. Lobelia’s head ached. It was as if two people were fighting for dominance in her head.

The elderly woman who took her hand sat in a bergère chair. Despite her tight grip, it seemed like she could be blown away by a slight gust of wind. Her long peppered hair was pulled into a tight bun, and wrinkled face was marred with frown lines. She wore strange robes underneath her mulberry shawl.

Great Grandma Monarda, panged in Lobelia’s mind.

“What happened?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

Monarda’s dark eyes flickered with worry.

“You caught a bad case of dragon pox,” she said, giving Lobelia’s hand a soft squeeze. “Even with the dragon pox cure I brewed, there was a large chance you would not survive like your grandfather,”

That’s not a real disease, Lobelia thought before sneezing.  Bright sparks came out of her nose which burned her nostrils. That was not supposed to happen.

Monarda poured Lobelia a glass of ice water from the pitcher on the mahogany side table.

“Here,”

Lobelia was feeling a bit parched. She gingerly took the glass and was about to drink it only for Monarda to push it up her nose. This caused Lobelia to choke up the water and splash it all over her covers. 

“What was that for?” Lobelia coughed.

“That water was not for you to drink. One of the treatments for dragon pox is to submerge your nose into ice water,”

Monarda took out her wand and with a wave, Lobelia’s comforters were dry.

Lobelia gaped.

Magic?!

Monarda put her wand away and handed Lobelia another glass of ice water. Lobelia took the glass and submerged her nose into the ice water. The coolness of the water lessened the burning in her nose.

 Lobelia asked, “How long should I do this for?”

“For about 10 minutes,” Monarda said, getting up from her chair. “I will be right back,”

Before Monarda left, she shouted, “Baldric!”

With a puff of smoke, a house elf appeared in front of her great grandmother. Lobelia stared at the elf. He looked exactly like Dobby with his bat-shaped ears and beady yellow eyes. He was even wearing a grass green pillowcase.

“Yes, Master Monarda?” he asked, bowing.

“Let everyone know that Lobelia is awake,”

“Certainly,” Baldric said before looking at Lobelia. “Baldric is happy to see you better, Master Lobelia,”

He then disappeared into another puff of smoke.

“I will be back,” Monarda said before leaving.

Lobelia put down her glass onto the side table and sank into her bed, groaning. Her mind was whirling. Magic? House elves? Somehow, she ended up in the Harry Potter universe.

A week passed before Lobelia was allowed to leave her bed. During her time bedridden, she mostly thought; her memories eventually sorted themselves out.

She was no longer Lavender Pence, an orphan high schooler from Florida, but Lobelia Prince, a pureblood witch about to embark in her sixth year into Hogwarts.

There was little Lobelia missed about her previous life. Shuttled from foster family to foster family since she was a baby, there was no one she would miss from that pitiful life. The only saving grace was that she was a fan of Harry Potter and watched all the movies. Now that she thought about it, it wasn’t much of a saving grace. Somehow, she had reincarnated into the year 1976 which made no sense. How could she go back in time from 2024 to 1976? She couldn’t think of any other way for it to be possible other than magic. Not that her foreknowledge of the future held anything useful for her time. Of course, that wouldn’t stop her from making a change. Too many people had died in the series. Maybe, she could prevent some casualties.

Lobelia repeatedly had nightmares of her death as Lavender Pence. She was on her way home from school, walking since she missed the bus again. School wasn’t that far from her current foster home, about a 30 minute walk. The walk was uneventful until she crossed the street to her house. All she heard was the blaring horn of the oncoming truck before everything went painfully black. And she would wake up in cold sweat. Lobelia doubted anyone would miss her in her old life.

“Lobelia, dear,”

Lobelia blinked out of her stupor and turned around. She was staring out the hallway window at the flower garden when she was interrupted by her mother.

Gypsophila Prince exuded elegance from the way she walked to her fine burgundy  robes. They couldn’t have been more different. While Lobelia was short and slender, Gypsophila was tall and plump. Her mother had bright curly chestnut hair in an elaborate braided bun, adorned with jewels. Lobelia’s black hair was pinned into a simple half-up do using her favorite silver hairpin. The only similarities that they had were their grey eyes and beauty mark above their lips.

“You have received mail,” Gypsophila said, handing Lobelia the parchment. “It’s from your fiancé,”

Lobelia’s stomach curdled like sour milk as she took the parchment.

Walden Macnair. He was one of the named Death Eaters in the Harry Potter movies. She remembered shuttering whenever she saw him on screen. He was the executioner that was supposed to execute the Hippogriff, Buckbeak, in the Prisoner of Azkaban movie. She wanted nothing to do with Macnair even before she gained her past life memories. In their first meeting, she knew straight away that he was a bloodthirsty, terrible man.

“What does it say?” Gypsophila asked, hovering too close for comfort.

Lobelia pursed her lips.

“Before I open this, there is something I have been meaning to ask you,”

“What is it, dearie?”

Lobelia stood there quietly for a bit, her heart pounding in her ears. Before she got her previous memories, she would never have had the courage to make such a request.

“Well…I want to break my engagement with Macnair,” she said.

Gypsophila's smile contorted into a deep frown and her face turned red with rage. But she was not one to shout. No, her anger was as quiet as a predator pursuing prey. She gripped Lobelia's arm, causing her to yelp. Her mother’s grip was so tight that Lobelia knew it would leave a bruise. Her sharp manicured nails sunk into her skin.

“How dare you ask me that. It is your duty as a woman to be married once you come of age. This arrangement has been made since you were an infant,” Gypsophila said through gritted teeth.

She gave Lobelia a harsh shake.

“Can’t you see how lucky you are? You are not going to be married off to some unknown family like some bargaining chip like I was. You are going to marry Ethel’s son. May she rest in peace. She was a good woman who had done so much for this family. Do you want to tarnish her good name with your puerile wants?”

Lobelia shook her head, blinking away welled up tears.

“No, Mother,”

Gypsophila released her vice grip and began rubbing her temple.

“Great, now I’m the bad guy,”

Lobelia couldn’t meet her mother’s eyes as she rubbed her throbbing arm. She should have known that it was going to end up like this.

“How about we go shopping and forget all about this,” Gypsophila said.

Lobelia shook her head. She just knew that her mother wasn’t going to let her pick anything out for herself and just play dress up with her.

“I’m still feeling a bit weak. How about some other time,”

Gypsophila gave her a placid smile and caressed her cheek.

“Okay, dearie. You know I love you. I’m only doing what’s best for you,”

Lobelia nodded, a lump forming in her throat. She waved a small goodbye to her mother before leaving.

She walked down the empty hallway and turned into the library. The room always gave Lobelia a sense of wonder, its walls massive and filled with hundreds of books. It was almost as big as the one at Hogwarts. Lobelia situated herself on a sofa by the fireplace, staring at the parchment. With a sneer, she chucked it into the fire like yesterday’s trash.

Watching it burn, it gave her no satisfaction. Nothing has changed. Does she have the power to change anything about her life? How could she save anyone when she could not even save herself?

Lobelia looked around the room, taking in its brilliance when she stopped at a huge tapestry. On it, it was the Prince Family Tree, its large branches expansive on the top before becoming narrower on the bottom. Standing before it was her father, Cedrus Prince.

“Father?”

Cedrus turned around and gave Lobelia a small smile, beckoning her over.

Lobelia could tell she got her looks from her father. He was tall and gaunt, looking uncomfortable in his expensive robes. His short black hair was combed into a classic quiff. There were bags under his russet eyes, reflecting years of trouble that had never quite been solved.

Cedrus gave Lobelia a side hug, immediately sensing that something was wrong.

“What’s the matter, little snake?”

Lobelia tightened their hug.

“I am just…worried about my engagement to Macnair. Is there any way for it to be broken?”

“Did you ask your mother about this?”

“Yes,”

“And what did she say about the matter?”

“No,”

“Then my hands are tied. Your mother is in charge of your engagement and also your little brother’s,”

Lobelia shifted her feet.

“But Penstemon likes his fiancé. You see how much fun they have during their playdates. Macnair is different. He’s terrible, dangerous even,”

“And what makes Macnair so dangerous?”

That made Lobelia pause. Other than her foreknowledge of Macnair in the movies, he never actually did anything that could reveal his evilness. It frustrated her to no end.

“I know that you are nervous about your engagement, but everything will be fine. You know, I was also extremely worried about my marriage before I met your mother. But everything fell into place once we got married. You know, despite popular belief, love is learned. Eventually, you will learn to love Macnair,”

Lobelia wrinkled her nose at the prospect. That was never going to happen. Knowing that talking about her horrid engagement was going nowhere, she looked at the elaborate tapestry of the family tree.

“We have a lot of family members,”

“Had a lot of family members,” her father offhandedly corrected, gazing at the family tree, “So few of us are left,”

Lobelia furrowed her brow. She noticed that there was a hole in the hanging, looking as if it was burned through. When she looked closely, she could see parts of a name.

“Who is the person next to your picture?”

Cedrus gently ran his hand over the hole. Lobelia could tell that he was having an internal conflict.

“That is…my older sister. Your aunt Eileen,” Cedrus said, teary eyed.

“What happened to her?”

“She was disowned. Your Grandfather Severus was furious with her when she fell in love with a muggle. I never saw her again after that. I miss her every day,”

Lobelia felt the cogs in her mind turning, connecting the dots. Her grandfather was named Severus, did that mean—

“What was the muggle’s name?”

Cedrus looked deep in thought,

“I believe his name was Tobias Snape,”

That blew Lobelia’s mind. She couldn’t believe it. She was related to Severus Snape. It was all there. He was the Half-Blood Prince after all. Why didn’t she realize this sooner?

“Can’t you contact Aunt Eileen? You are the new Head of the House. You can bring her back into the family, right?”

Cedrus’ eyes shined a glimmer of hope, but it died as quickly as it came.

“It’s been so long, too long. I shouldn’t disturb her,” he said, shoulders slumped.

Before Lobelia could argue, someone burst into the library.

“Father!” a little boy cried.

It could only be Penstemon. He was a charming boy with chubby cheeks. Her little brother recently turned 6. Lobelia doubted it was that fun of a birthday since she was at death’s door suffering from Dragon Pox when it happened.

“Have you seen Alfie? We were playing hide-and seek and now he’s gone!” Penstemon cried, tears flowing from his heterochromia eyes.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure your toad is somewhere in this house,” Cedrus said, wiping away Penstemon’s tears.

“But I looked everywhere. No Alfie,”

“Have you checked under your bed, Pen?” Lobelia asked. “He was there the last time you lost him,”

Penstemon shook his head.

“That was the first place I looked. I checked my room, the dining room, even the kitchen! And nothing,” he said.

“Please help!”

Penstemon began to weep harder.

“What if he’s hurt,”

“I am sure he is fine,” Cedrus said, picking Penstemon up.

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Lobelia said. “Let’s get to searching,”

And they were on the prowl. Eventually, Alfie was found. The sneaky little toad was under Lobelia’s bed.

Chapter Text

The Cousin Conspiracy

Chapter 2

Lobelia groaned, her head a throbbing mess. “Doing” was not the right word regarding her attempts on her summer homework. More like staring daggers at her blank parchment, wishing her magic would do it for her. Sometimes, wishes don’t come true. Her Transfiguration homework was still blank, mocking her. Exasperated, Lobelia laid her head down on her mahogany desk.

The rustling of feathers took her out of her moping. She looked to see a familiar barn owl tapping her bedroom window.

“Dewey!” she called as she got up from her desk to open the window.

Dewey screeched, flying a lap around Lobelia’s room before dropping an envelope onto the desk.

“You know, I wasn’t expecting you,”

A few days ago, Lobelia wrote a letter to her Aunt Eileen, telling her how Grandfather died of Dragon Pox and if they could meet.

Instead, it was her best friend’s bird that came.

Lobelia took a can of owl treats off of her desk and gave one to Dewey when he landed on her bed frame.

“Good girl,” she said, watching Dewey gobble down the treat.

Lobelia took the envelope and read it. Her friend, Juniper, invited Lobelia to hang out at Diagon Alley before school started.

“Better than being stuck here all day,” she said to Dewey who replied with a soft hoot.

Lobelia wrote down her reply and handed it to the owl. With a hoot of farewell, Dewey grabbed the envelope and was gone.

On the day of the hangout, Lobelia used the floo to go to the Leaky Cauldron. She looked around the place for her friends.

It was a shabby and rundown pub, but also a well loved one. The table scattered throughout it was full of people, chattering happily about whatever. Lobelia turned to the bar and her eyes met the owner, Tom. Lobelia smiled and gave him a soft wave.

“Your usual?”

Lobelia nodded before heading to the many tables.

The owner quite amazed her. His memory was unmatched.

Lobelia found her friends at a booth in the back of the restaurant. Juniper Greengrass and Atticus Rowle were her friends ever since her first year at Hogwarts. They all met on the train and instantly clicked. But Lobelia did not become friends with them for friendship’s sake. It was the Slytherin in her that observed that there were many benefits to being friends with wizards part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight.

She noticed how Juniper latched on Atticus’ arm, both blushing like fools. Looks like both of her friends had started dating during her time dying from Dragon Pox. Not that she was surprised. She was expecting it for a long time. Looks like she has become even more of a third wheel in the friend group. Not that she minded, she was happy for her friends. At least, that was what she was trying to convince herself.

“Hello lovebirds,” Lobelia said, sitting across from them.

Juniper scowled.

“You’re late,”

“30 minutes late,” Atticus added, taking a swing at his butterbeer.

“I know. My little brother was clinging on my leg, begging to come with me. You know how Penstemon is,” Lobelia explained.

“Aww. Your brother is so cute,” Juniper gushed. “Maybe you should have relented,”

“I think you made the right choice,” Atticus said, “What is he, two?”

“He just turned six in July,” Lobelia corrected.

Tom approached the table and served Lobelia a steaming plate of shepherd's pie with butterbeer. The aroma of the food made her mouth water.

“Thank you, Tom,” Lobelia said before taking a small bite, the savory dish warming her stomach.

“Anytime,” Tom replied.

He turned to Atticus and Juniper.

“Do any of you like some refills?”

“That would be great!” Juniper cheered.

“Coming right up,” Tom said before leaving.

“Hey, let's go to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour,” Juniper said, her hazel eyes sparkling.

“In this weather?” Atticus asked. “It’s freezing,”

“We could eat it inside,” Lobelia interjected.

“Right!” Juniper cheered.

Juniper leaned back into her seat.

“I can’t believe it is already our 6th year at Hogwarts,”

“I know. It felt like it was only yesterday that we were all first years,” Atticus said, finishing his cup of butterbeer.

Lobelia nodded as she continued to eat.

 Juniper watched Lobelia eat and furrowed her brows.

“Are you feeling, okay?”

Lobelia nodded, her mouth full.

“I’m fine,”

“No, you’re not,” Atticus chimed in. “You’re eating like a picky pigeon,”

Lobelia awkwardly shifted into her seat. Her appetite had never been the same since she came down with Dragon Pox.

“What do you guys know about Severus Snape?” Lobelia asked, wanting to change the subject.

“Why are you asking us? Isn’t he your cousin?” Atticus asked.

“You knew?” Lobelia said, surprised.

“Everyone in Slytherin knows. You know how we are with bloodlines. I am surprised that you did not know,”

A strange pang emerged in her heart. If Severus being her cousin was such common knowledge, did that mean that Severus knew as well? If that was so, why hadn’t they interacted? Lobelia scoured her memories and saw nothing about Snape. Was Severus avoiding her? Did she do something that she just did not remember?

“I-I just learned about it recently,” Lobelia said. “I want to mentally prepare before we meet,”

“Don’t bother, Lobelia. He is a huge git,” Atticus said. “He has a horrible temper and nasty looks. He also used to be friends with a Gryffindor Mudblood. Best to pretend he doesn’t exist. He is nothing but a half-blood bottom feeder,”

Lobelia felt her stomach drop when she heard the term ‘mudblood’ used so casually. As a pureblood witch in Slytherin, Lobelia used the word casually in conversation as well in the past. It was like Lavender was disappointed in Lobelia. She remembered how Draco would call Hermione mudblood to her face in the movies. He deserved that punch in the face.

“Atticus, that’s quite mean,” Juniper pouted.

“I agree,” Lobelia added.

“But it’s true,” Atticus insisted “I have told you how Slytherin is organized, Juniper. Sacred Twenty-eight Purebloods on the top and half-bloods on the bottom. It would be quite pitiful if a mudblood found themselves in Slytherin,”

“I don’t really care so much for the hierarchy,” Lobelia said. “It doesn’t really affect me,”

“That’s because you are friends with us,” Atticus said, putting his arms around Juniper’s shoulders. “You are on the top of the hierarchy too, Juniper, since you are part of the Greengrass House,”

“Ugh, this hierarchy business is giving me a headache. I am so happy to be sorted into Hufflepuff,” Juniper complained, “How about we just change the subject,”

Juniper turned to Lobelia.

“What did you do this summer?” Juniper asked.

“Nothing really,” Lobelia said, “I got Dragon Pox from my grandfather while I was taking care of him. He died and I lived,”

“Oh Merlin, that’s horrible!” Juniper cried. “Even with the Dragon Pox cure, there is still a high chance of dying,”

“I am glad that you are alive,” Atticus said. “Who would I beat in Wizarding Chess with you not around?”

“Thanks,” Lobelia replied.

“What was it like to have Dragon Pox?” Juniper asked.

“Not too bad. I was in and out of consciousness, so I hardly remember it,”

Lobelia chuckled.

Juniper gave Lobelia a pointed look, not convinced.

“It’s not so bad. Honest! Nothing compared to getting a shot at the doctor's office. When I was young, I had to get a few shots. I was so scared when getting it that a few nurses had to hold me down to administer it,”

Lobelia shuddered. “Feared shots ever since,”

There was a moment of silence and that’s when Lobelia knew that she messed up. Those were her memories as Lavender. Sometimes, it felt like her mind was like two jigsaw puzzles smashed together. She did not know where Lavender began, and Lobelia ended. Her memories were still not quite right.

“What the bloody hell is a doctor?!” Atticus demanded.

“A muggle healer,” Juniper explained “I learned it in Muggles Studies,”

“Why are you taking such a disgusting class?” Atticus asked.

“It’s an easy Outstanding.” Juniper explained.

Atticus shook his head, not hiding his disgust.

 “Let me get this straight. You let yourself be subrogated to Muggle Bullshit? You and your family are a bunch of Blood Traitors!”

Lobelia tried to rebuke it, but Atticus was not having it.

“Shut up, Mudblood Lover. You know what, I don’t want to be friends with a filthy blood traitor,” he said before getting up to leave.

Juniper looked between them, lost about what to do.

“Come on, Juniper. Or are you a filthy blood traitor too?” Atticus sneered.

Juniper mouthed, “I’m sorry,” before leaving after Atticus.

Lobelia was left alone, shocked. They were friends for years and just like that, they were gone. All because of an offhand comment.

Lobelia stared at her plate; her shepherd’s pie not even halfway finished. She did not notice Tom approach with the refills of butterbeer.

“Where did your friends go?” Tom asked.

Lobelia pursed her lips.

“They left,”

“They haven’t paid,”

Lobelia held back her tears. Somehow this made everything worse. They left her to foot the bill as well.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay,”

Lobelia took out her yellow coin purse and gave Tom a handful of galleons.

“You can keep the change,”

Lobelia left the Leaky Cauldron and went into the streets of Diagon Alley. The cobblestone road was bursting with people from different walks of life. Most wore their winter robes and some even wore muggle clothes. Through the shop windows displayed all sorts of everyday magic. The shopping area had buildings crowded on each side of Lobelia, making her feel a bit claustrophobic.

She wished time would stop, so she could process what happened, but time had no time for her problems. She let a few stray tears fall but quickly wiped them. Memories flashed before her eyes of all the good times she had with Atticus and Juniper. Playing wizarding chess, racing with brooms. Even studying together. What was she going to do once she reached Hogwarts? She was going to be alone more, that was for sure. Was her friendship really that fragile?

Lobelia thought about her life as Lavender. She had few friends in her past life, but one stood out, Tallulah. Tallulah was one of her foster sisters before Lavender moved to the next foster home, but distance did not affect their friendship. They would always find time for each other. Even when they had arguments, they would always make up and their friendship would become even stronger. That was a true friendship.

Thinking of her old friend made Lobelia cry harder. She hoped that Tallulah never found out about her death. Let her believe that she ghosted her. She did not want her friend to grieve for her.

 Lobelia was walking past The Magical Menagerie and glanced at the different animals on display. One animal caught her eye, making her stop. It was a cinnamon brown cat with eyes striking yellow. It stared at her, reflecting the same sense of depression she felt. Lobelia just had to buy her. She walked into the pet shop. All the walls of the place were crowded with different animals all making their distinct noise, singing their songs of longing. Lobelia went to the front desk and asked the shopkeeper how much the cat in the window was.

“I don’t think you should buy that one. That half-kneazle is a biter,” the shopkeeper warned.

Lobelia went up to the cat and it began to growl.

“It’s okay,” she cooed, reaching her hand out.

The cat sniffed her fingers before rubbing its cheeks against her hand.

“Well, I’ll be. She never acted like this with anyone,” the shopkeeper said. Lobelia smiled a little before picking up the cat’s cage.

“How much is she?” Lobelia asked.

 “Nine galleons,”

“I’ll take her,”

Lobelia took out her yellow coin purse and purchased the cat.

“Come on, Ginger,” she said to the cat. “Let’s go shopping,”

And the shopping spree began. Lobelia shopped until she dropped. She bought all sorts of cat supplies, clothes, jewelry, makeup, and lots and lots of yarn.

Weeks had passed since that traumatizing day in Diagon Alley and now it was time to return to Hogwarts. Lobelia wanted to write to her now ex-friends, but her family owl, Augustus, was still out delivering her letter to Eileen Snape. It wasn’t that much of a loss though. She doubted that it would help anyway.

Lobelia’s father and brother came with her to King's Cross Station, Platform 9 3⁄4 to help her with her things and bid farewell. The Hogwarts Express whistle blew, signaling that it was about to depart.

“Do you really have to go?” Penstemon asked, teary eyes.

“Yes,” Lobelia said, ruffling his head “But it is not forever, I’ll be back during winter break,”

“Remember to write,” Cedrus said.

“Write to me too!” Penstemon cried.

“I will,”

Lobelia gave them one last hug.

“Remember that I will always love you,” Cedrus said.

Lobelia deepened the hug.

“I love you too,” Lobelia said before she departed for the train.

Lobelia quickly weaved through the crowd and boarded the train. She ended up finding an empty compartment near the back. Lobelia cast the feather-light charm on her trunk to make it easier to carry. It made putting the trunk into the luggage space above the seats no trouble at all.

She closed the compartment door and took her applewood wand out of its hoister to cast a spell on it.

“Colloportus,” Lobelia whispered with a wave of her wand.

Now that she locked the door, she doubted anyone would disturb her on this long trip to Hogwarts. She took her cat, Ginger, out of her cage and it lounged in the seat next to her.

Lobelia smiled and petted her head.

“You are my only friend,” she whispered to Ginger who just meowed in reply.

Lobelia took out her knitting needles and yarn and began to knit her most recent creation. She did a lot of knitting in her past life. It was what got her through the days. Its repetitive movement of the yarn was calming and put her ever chaotic mind at ease. But being with only a cat for company, her mind still wandered.

It wasn’t like Lobelia was in any physical danger, yet. She should be safe at Hogwarts. But the First Wizarding War was raging all around her. She assumed the war started when Snape and his peers graduated from Hogwarts, but she was wrong. Reading about the attacks on muggles in the Daily Prophet was a terrible sight indeed.

So little was mentioned about the First Wizarding War in the movies. It made her realize just how little she knew about the Wizarding World.

“I need to take some preventative measures,” she said to herself.

Hogwarts might be a relatively safe place, but what about her fellow Slytherins? They might become her enemies because of Atticus. He has always been outspoken about his opinions. Slytherin would likely label her a blood traitor because of him. Not only that, almost everyone at the top of the hierarchy supported the Dark Lord and could even be in cahoots with him. With the loss of her Sacred Twenty-eight friends, her reputation must have taken a nosedive.

Lobelia put her head in her hands. She hoped that she would just be shunned, but she needed to prepare in case she got attacked. Deuling wasn’t her strong suit. She barely got an E in her Defense Against the Dark Arts Owls. She needed allies. But how would she gain them? Seeing how she lost two of her closest friends with a slip of the tongue meant that she was not very good at gaining them.

“Oh, what to do?”

The best thing to do to get out of the war was to leave Britain. Transfer schools. She had the money to do it. She didn’t know where. There were Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, but she did not know any French or whatever language Durmstrang spoke. So that was out. Maybe travel to America. That would be nice. She was an American in her past life. But what was the wizarding community like in America? Are there wizards in America?

She did not know. She did not remember if America was even mentioned in the movies. She needed to do some research.

Lobelia scratched Ginger under her chin, making her purr loudly.

“Looks like a trip to the library is in order,”

And then there was Severus Snape. Weak as she was, she couldn’t just let Severus fall into the hands of Voldemort. She remembered watching Severus in the movies in awe. He was one of her favorite characters with his billowing black robes and snarky remarks. She bawled her eyes out when Nagini killed him. If she could save one person from their terrible fate, it would be Severus Snape. Especially since he was now family. She had to find him first. He would definitely be at the Welcoming Feast.

Lobelia felt a little better now that she had a plan. Find Severus then research about America.

A soft knock on her compartment door took Lobelia out of her thoughts. A large part of her wanted to ignore the knocking, but she eventually relented. She dispelled the locking charm on the door and opened it. Before her stood two girls. One of them had fiery red hair with the greenest eyes Lobelia had ever seen. The other girl had dulled blonde hair and pale blue eyes. They both wore muggle clothing. Lobelia assessed that they must be muggleborns. The green eyed girl gave Lobelia a friendly smile.

“Are those seats taken?”

Lobelia shook her head.

The other girl beamed.

“See, Mary? I told you we would find seats,”

They entered the compartment with their heavy trunks and dragged them underneath the seats. They both sat down across from Lobelia. The Hogwarts Express’s horn blared one last time before the train started to move.

The girls across from her were talking amongst themselves.  They were catching up and discussing their summer. This left Lobelia in a state of longing. She would have been doing the same thing with Juniper and Atticus if she didn’t lose them.

Lobelia shook her head. She shouldn’t be pitying herself. She needed to be gaining allies. And some potential allies were right in front of her!

Lobelia extended her hand towards the girls.

“I’m Lobelia Prince,” she said, her hands shaking due to her nervousness.

The redhead grinned and took her hand, her grip firm and exuding confidence.

“I’m Lily Evans and this is my friend, Mary Macdonald,”

Lobelia's eyes widened.

Lily Evans! A canon character so soon?!

She cleared her throat, trying her best to hide her shock. What if she changes the plot which leads to unexpected consequences? Not only that, but she was also a Gryffindor, an automatic enemy of Slytherins. Allying with her would only bring trouble.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,”

Lobelia hid her rushing thoughts behind a placid smile. A part of Lobelia wanted to leave it at that, just go back to her knitting and ignore them.

Lobelia looked beside her and watched Ginger play with her ball of yarn. This made both Mary and Lily gush.

“Your cat is so cute,” Mary enthused, her voice soft.

Lily nodded in agreement.

“Thank you,” Lobelia said, trying to stay curt and uncaring.

Ever since Ginger became a part of Lobelia’s life, the cat was the opposite of what the shopkeeper said. She did not bite anyone and seemed to crave attention.

 “Want to hold her? She is a pretty chill cat,” Lobelia found herself saying.

Mary beamed.

Lobelia picked Ginger up and handed her to Mary.

Mary snuggled Ginger and the cat immediately started to purr. Lily patted Ginger’s head.

“What’s her name?” Lily asked.

“Ginger,” Lobelia replied.

“I always wanted to have a cat, but both of my parents are allergic,” Mary sighed.

“That's unfortunate,” Lobelia said.

“It’s similar for me, but with owls,” Lily said. “I wanted to buy an owl, but my mom has a feather allergy. I never knew that was even a thing,”

“I guess everything can become an allergy,” Lobelia sighed.

She went back to her knitting, which calmed her nerves.

“What are you making?” Lily asked curiously.

Lobelia smiled at her creation.

“I am knitting a dress for a doll that I knitted,”

Lobelia took the doll out of her bag, a cute grey bunny with pink button eyes.

“You made this? That’s amazing!” Lily said.

“I do a little knitting myself.” Mary said. “But I only knitted scarves,”

“Don’t put yourself down, Mary. Knitting a whole scarf is a big accomplishment. I tried knitting too, but I just could not get the knots right. It always formed into a jumbled mess,” Lily said.

“It takes practice,” Lobelia said.

“Lots of patience,” Mary continued.

Mary and Lobelia gave each other a knowing smile. Lobelia remembered the hours she spent as Lavender trying to figure out how to knit. Making her first scarf was a big accomplishment.

It seemed that the more she talked with Mary and Lily, the more at ease Lobelia felt. Maybe they could be allies or even friends.

“You are the only other person I know who knits. Some people even teased me about it, calling it a grandma hobby,” Mary said.

“That’s such a rude thing to say,” Lily said.

“I have you know, anyone can knit,” Lobelia said. “Now that you have me, we could trade patterns. I have multiple books of them,”

“I’d like that,” Mary said.

Lobelia's smile grew, realizing that they were definitely becoming friends. She wore color changing nail polish. Her nails changed color from a murky yellow to a warm pink, reflecting her changing emotions.

Lily gasped.

“Your nails changed color,” she exclaimed.

Lobelia nodded.

“My nail polish changes color depending on my mood,”

“That’s so cool,” Mary said.

“They are like mood rings,” Lily said.

Knowing that mood rings were a muggle invention, Lobelia knew it was best to act as if she did not know what those were.

“Mood rings?”

“It’s muggle jewelry. My sister, Tuney, has been obsessed with them. They are really cool,” Lily exclaimed.

“I have some on right now,” Mary said, presenting her hand. “I bought a bunch of them,”

Mary wore three rings. They were a simple design, its band shaped like hearts. The hearts were bright pink.

“It’s so pretty,” Lobelia said.

“I can give you one,” Mary said as she pulled two off her fingers. “You too, Lily,”

Lobelia put on the ring and felt a burst of warmth inside. They all had their hands out, wearing their matching rings. 

“To a new friendship,” Lobelia laughed.

“To friendship!” Mary and Lily cheered.

For the rest of the train ride, it was as if they had been friends for years. The trolley woman rolled by as they talked, and they ordered a few snacks that they shared amongst themselves. They talked about a multitude of topics from their wonders about the new school year to their hopes and dreams. Lobelia found out that they were all sixth years. That would mean that Severus was also in his sixth year.

“Ever since I was young, I always wanted to be a healer,” Lobelia told them. “There is so much pain in the world. I just want to relieve it a little,”

“That’s so cool! I want to be an editor for the Daily Prophet,” Mary said.

“You guys have such good aspirations,” Lily sighed. “I still don’t know what I want to be,”

“You still have time,” Lobelia said, trying to comfort Lily.

“Not enough,” Lily replied.

Lobelia looked outside and saw the rolling hills of Scotland. They were near Hogwarts, and they haven’t changed into their uniform.

“We should change,” Mary said, as if she read her mind.

“True,” Lobelia said.

She took out her trunk from overhead.

“I’ll change in my trunk,” Lobelia said.

“What?” Lily asked.

Mary looked confused as well.

“My trunk has an extension charm on it,” Lobelia explained before climbing in.

Lobelia entered her trunk, and she knew that having a trunk like this must have been super expensive. It was the size of a large walk-in closet. Her robes hung neatly on a rack on one wall and another wall had a bookshelf full of different books from her textbooks and personal readings to her knitting patterns.

There was also a dresser and vanity. Her vanity was filled with an assortment of things like make-up, perfume, and a large jewelry box. The drawers were full of stuff which included her multiple bottles of color-changing nail polish.

Lobelia quickly changed out of her dandelion yellow robes and into her deep Slytherin uniform. She then sat before her vanity to touch up her makeup, making sure her yellow eyeshadow did not smear and reapplied her pink lip gloss. As she brushed her hair and readjusted her yellow knitted headband, she wondered how Lily and Mary were going to react to her being in Slytherin. With the yellow robes that she wore, they must assume that she was in Hufflepuff.

“I’m sure their reaction won’t be so bad, I hope,”

Lastly, she put on her silver Slytherin signet ring and tie pin that were passed down by her mother. Lobelia gazed at herself in the mirror. She was the prime image of a wealthy woman, so different from her past life.

Lobelia sighed. She couldn't just pop out of her trunk. She decided she would give them gifts to ease their shock. She decided to give an unused color changing nail polish to Lily and a book of knitting patterns to Mary. Lobelia gripped her gifts, gathering her resolve.

“It was now or never,” Lobelia told herself before climbing out of her trunk.

Lobelia met with Lily and Mary, both wearing their blazing red Gryffindor uniforms. Ginger was purring on Mary’s lap as she petted her. They smiled at Lobelia before noticing her Slytherin uniform.

“You’re in Slytherin?!” Lily shouted, surprised. “I thought you were in Hufflepuff,”

“I get that a lot because I like to wear yellow. It’s my favorite color,” Lobelia explained.

Mary was close to tears.

“B-but you are so nice,” she cried. “We have so much in common. How could you be in Slytherin?!”

Mary shouts scared Ginger out of her arms and to Lobelia’s lap. Lobelia bit her lip. Things were starting to escalate. She must do something to fix things.

“I don’t care that you are in Gryffindor. I know that our houses have their tension, but I believe that that should be reserved for things like Quidditch and House Points. I had such a wonderful time getting to know you two. I don’t want our different houses to ruin that,” Lobelia said.

That made Mary bawl, and Lily comforted her.

“It's just hard for us to do that,” Lily explained. “Mary was harassed by a Slytherin last year,”

This made Lobelia’s stomach contort. She couldn’t believe the horrors her housemates were capable of doing. Lobelia softly held Mary’s hand.

“I am so sorry that happened to you, Mary. I want you to know that I would never hurt you,”

Lobelia handed Mary the knitting patterns book and Lily the nail polish.

“I would like you two to have this,”

Mary took the book and wiped her tears.

“You’re too good to be in Slytherin,” she sniffed.

Lobelia shook her head.

“When I was being sorted, I wanted to be in Hufflepuff. It was my favorite color, and I wanted to be in the same house as my dad. But when the hat was placed on my head, the sorting hat talked about my wanting to become a healer and my need to prove myself. My ambitions were what put me in Slytherin,”

Mary nodded in understanding.

“The one who hurt you sullied Slytherin’s name and a shame to my house,”

Lobelia looked at Lily and Mary.

“Can we be friends?” she asked.

Mary and Lily looked at each other before nodding. Lobelia sighed with relief before hugging them. Then the train stopped, and they arrived at Hogwarts.

Lobelia arrived at the Great Hall with her newfound friends. She said goodbye to Mary and Lily before hugging them one last time. She then headed to the Slytherin table. Seeing all of her housemates, she realized she didn’t know where to sit. She had no allies in Slytherin since she is no longer friends with Atticus.

Looking at the rows of Slytherins, her grey eyes met with Atticus’s foul brown. A big part of Lobelia wanted to run and apologize, explaining to him once more that what she said about doctors was an insignificant slip of the tongue. But the disgusted sneer he gave stopped her in her tracks. Other Slytherins around him also glared at her too. It looks like she was right about Atticus. He was not only no longer her friend, but her enemy.

 She walked down the table to the younger years. She found herself sitting at the end of the table, a place usually reserved for first years. She wanted to put her head down and stay like that through the whole feast, but that would mess up her make-up. Lobelia closed her eyes and straightened her back, imagining herself as an impenetrable fortress, impervious to Atticus’ attacks.

“You made a mess of things,”

Lobelia opened her eyes and scowled at the seventh year in front of her.

“Macnair,” she said, her voice venomous. “The hell you want?”

Macnair gave her a smile that made Lobelia cringe as he sat across from her.

“Rumor has it that your family used muggle methods while you were sick with dragon pox,” he said. “Is it true?”

“Whether it is true or not is none of your concern. Just get away from me,” Lobelia said.

“Is it so wrong to be concerned with my fiancé? You haven’t even replied to any of my letters,” Macnair complained.

“So what? Stop sending them,”

Macnair sighed.

“That Atticus is making a big mess of things which are affecting me. And you walking in here, cozying up with a bunch of Gryffindor mudbloods is not doing you any favors. But I have a plan,”

“Does it look like I care? Your suffering makes my day!”

“Stop being so stubborn. We are going to be married in a few years,”

That left a bad taste in Lobelia’s mouth.

“Not if I can help it. Now, go away. Don’t you have some Death Eaters to appease?”

Macnair scowled before leaving and the Sorting began. Minerva was at the front stage with the sorting hat and the list of first years to be sorted. Lobelia politely clapped after each sorting was done. Dumbledore made his usual announcements and announced the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who went by Professor Eldric and that there was also a new charms professor, Filius Flitwick. That was a name Lobelia recognized.

After the announcements, food appeared on the table, making the table creak and bend inward with the sear weight of the food. Lobelia served a generous amount of everything onto her plate and began to eat. Everything was delicious.

She decided to make small talk with the first years.

“Excited about the new year?” Lobelia asked a small girl with pigtails.

She just wanted to pinch their cheeks. The first years were so small with their eyes full of wonder.

Before the small girl could reply, a second year stopped her.

They said, “Don’t talk to that blood traitor,” It made the first year scoot away from Lobelia. Lobelia sighed and returned to her silent eating. She guessed everyone in Slytherin was against her.

After the feast, Lobelia followed her fellow Slytherins down the stairs. The descent down into the Slytherin Dungeons wasn’t as bad as Lobelia thought. Its darkness was strangely comforting with its dim lighting. She reached the stretch of stone wall that led to the Slytherin common room.

“Basilisk,”

The stone wall began to shift to form an opening to the common room. Lobelia entered, marveling at the windows that gave glimpses of the Black lake. Lobelia yawned, tired from the busy day. She walked over to the girl’s dormitory and entered her room. It seemed that she was the first one to enter, her dormmates not around.

It wasn’t like she hated her dormmates nor did her dormmates hate her. It was more like a common indifference, but they still abided by the Slytherin hierarchy. Candelifera Carrow was at the top of the hierarchy. She got whatever she asked, treating her fellow dormmates more like servants. Lobelia came in second because of her Prince heritage. She tended to treat everyone the same with a friendly distance. She made sure to remember everyone’s birthday and gave them gifts. Ivy Wallace, Saoirse O’Brien, and Eloise Wood were at the bottom, all being half-blood witches. They mostly kept to themselves, obeying Candelifera's many demands.

Lobelia grumbled to herself, wondering how hostile her dormmates would be to her now. Did she have to put protective charms on her bed? She hardly even knew those types of charms. Looks like she was going to have to learn them.

Lobelia walked to her trunk at the foot of her bed along with Ginger’s cage. Ginger lay comfortably on her bed.

“Hi baby,” she said to her cat, petting her head.

Ginger yawned in reply.

Lobelia opened her trunk and took out her silk nightgown with matching robe, slippers, and other toiletries before leaving the room to go to the bathroom. After a hot shower and brushing her teeth, she was ready for bed. She returned to the dorm room to see her dormmates had arrived. They were all in different stages of going to bed. Saoirse was reading a book on her bed. Eloise had already changed into her pajamas and was fast asleep. Candelifera was having her hair brushed by Ivy.

Candelifera looked at Lobelia and glared.

“To think you and your family are blood traitors now. How despicable,”

The room went silent, Ivy stopped mid brush and Saoirse looked up from her book. Lobelia had a headache. She just wanted to go to bed. A part of her wanted to scurry to bed or try to defend herself.

“I was sick with Dragon Pox over the summer. So, what if my family tried muggle medicine for me to get better? Dragon Pox Cure is not always successful,” Lobelia said with a scowl. “I almost died!”

Saoirse gasped.

Lobelia plopped on her bed, putting her head into her hands. She was hated by her whole house now. She knew from then on, things were only going to get worse.

Then she felt the weight of someone sitting next to her on the bed and put a hand on her back.

“Ah, I’m so sorry that it happened to ya,” Saoirse said, her voice harsh and deep. “I’m right glad ya made a full recovery, I am.”

Lobelia looked up at her roommate, shocked by the comfort.

“Hey, get away from that blood traitor!” Candelifera screeched, her voice shrill.

Saoirse looked at Candelifera and crossed her arms.

“What in the name o' the divil did Lobelia do t' earn yer ire, Candelifera? Lobelia's one o' the sweetest souls I ever met, and she was strugglin' with a fierce illness. Desperate times, they do call fer desperate measures, don’t they now?”

Candelifera looked as though she was looking at the most disgusting things in the world.

“You think you can lecture me since you got yourself a Sacred Twenty-eight boyfriend? You’re dead wrong. You’re going to regret this,”

“I'd love t' see ya try, ya gobshite!” Saoirse laughed. 

She turned to Lobelia.

“Sure, everything’s gonna be grand, so it is. Atticus always was a terrible blabbermouth, ya know. Can’t fathom why ye were mates with him at all. I’m just shocked he’s been givin’ ye a hard time, of all folks!” She put a hand on Lobelia’s shoulder. “Just get yerself a bit o' sleep now, will ya?” Saoirse said before going to her bed.

Lobelia put herself under her covers and snuggled Ginger in her arms. Her heart was warmed by her roommate standing up for her. She closed her eyes, about to go to sleep, but she felt like she had forgotten something.

“Oh shit,” she groaned.

She forgot her plan of looking for Severus during the Welcoming Feast. How in the world is she going to find him now?

Chapter Text

The Cousin Conspiracy

Chapter 3

Lobelia twisted and turned in bed as she mentally beat herself up over not looking for Severus during the Welcoming Feast. He was right there in the same room as her. She should have at least looked for him instead of being caught up in less important things like her reputation in Slytherin.

Eventually, she fell asleep. When she woke up, there was no movement in her bedroom. Lobelia opened the curtain that surrounded her bed to see that all of her dormmates were gone but Eloise.

“I should invest in an alarm,” she grumbled, taking her wand out of her mahogany wand box to cast a quick tempus to see the time.

It was 7:30am. She still had time for breakfast if she rushed. Lobelia walked up to Eloise. She knew that her roommate would sleep through breakfast and maybe even through the whole school day if she left her. Lobelia gave her a good shake.

“Eloise, wake up!” Lobelia shouted.

“Wait, what?”

“We are going to be late for breakfast if we don’t go now,” Lobelia said.

“Alright, I’m up,” Eloise yawned, rubbing her eyes.

Lobelia went to the restroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. Once she was clean, she went back to her dorm room and climbed into her trunk. There, she put on her school uniform and sat before her vanity.

Lobelia then started putting on her everyday makeup. As she did it, she thought of her past life as Lavender. Back then, she never took much time into getting ready, she just rolled out of bed, not bothering to put on makeup or even wash her face sometimes. She had no one that she wanted to impress. Now as Lobelia, she was constantly surrounded by luxuries. She now realized that she did not need to impress anyone to look good. She put on makeup because it made her feel pretty. She kept good hygiene because she wanted to feel clean.

Lobelia lastly did her hair into its usual half updo and sprayed her favorite vanilla perfume. She had such a big morning routine because of self-love. She loved being pampered.

There was a knock on her trunk. Lobelia peeked out of it to see Eloise nervously rubbing the back of her neck.

“Uh, do you have any spare lip gloss? I seemed to have lost mine,”

“Let me check,” Lobelia said before climbing back down into her trunk to retrieve one of her unopened tubes of lip gloss.

“Here you go,” she said, handing the tube to Eloise. “It’s strawberry scented,”

“Wow, I love strawberries! Thanks a bunch,” Eloise said before opening it and applying it to her small bow-shaped lips.

Lobelia adjusted her signet ring after she climbed out of her trunk.

“Come on, we are going to be late,” Lobelia said, quickening her pace to go outside of her dorm room.

Lobelia and Eloise arrived at the Great Hall. Lobelia checked the time again and it was 8:15am. They did not have much time to finish breakfast. Lobelia noticed a boy sitting alone at the Slytherin table. He had shoulder length black hair and pale skin. It must be Severus Snape.

“I will be right back,” Lobelia told Eloise before quickly departing toward the boy.

“Severus?” she asked, tapping the boy on the shoulder.

The boy whipped his head toward Lobelia from his eggs and scowled.

“I looked nothing like that git!” he sneered.

Lobelia furrowed her brows.

“Well, you both have black hair, brown eyes, and pale skin. It's easy to get you two confused,” Lobelia said in an attempt to defend herself.

“Merlin, you don't know what Snape looks like. You’re his cousin,”

“Why does everyone seem to know about that but me,”

Lobelia mumbled to herself. “I never met him, okay. If you’re not Severus, who are you anyway?”

“I’m Regulus Black. I’m not even in the same year as you and Snape,” he spat.

“Pleasure to meet you then,” Lobelia said politely.

“Yeah, yeah. Let me eat my breakfast in peace,” Regulus said, waving her off. “I don’t want to be associated with a blood traitor,”

Lobelia sighed and left him, feeling defeated. She seated herself next to Eloise who was scarfing down food as if she hadn’t eaten in days. Seated across from her was Saoirse with a blonde hair boy who wore blue Ravenclaw robes, Passer Fawley she believed his name was.

“What did you want with Regulus?” Eloise asked between mouthfuls.

“I thought he was Severus Snape,” Lobelia mumbled, serving herself some eggs with toast, sausage, and fried tomatoes.

“Severus Snape? Ah, they don't look a'tall alike, do they?” Saoirse chuckled; Passer sparked a humorous smile.

“Severus has a very…distinct appearance,” Passer said almost comfortingly. “You’ll know it’s him when you see him,”

Lobelia wanted to put her head in her hands, but that would have ruined her makeup. She looked up at the ceiling instead.

“Obviously not,”

Lobelia took a swing of pumpkin juice. Suddenly, an owl screeched and landed before Lobelia. Filled with anticipation, Lobelia took the parchment from the owl and gave it some bacon as a treat. Could this be Aunt Eileen’s reply?

Lobelia was disappointed when she read its contents.

“What’s it say?” Eloise asked.

“I have to meet with Professor Slughorn after breakfast,” Lobelia replied, tucking the parchment away into her robe’s pocket.

“I reckon all of us sixth years need t'meet with 'im in private. Must be about our NEWT classes, I'd say,” Saoirse explained.

“Lobelia, are you going to join the Frog Choir this year?” Eloise asked. “It’s pretty chill there and we were looking for more members,”

“Yes, I believe I do have some space in my schedule to join,” Lobelia replied with a smile.

Some things don’t change between lifetimes. In Lobelia’s past life, Lavender loved music and even sang in the local church choir. Lobelia never really had time for extracurricular activities since she dived so heavily into her classes.

“I could n'ever be in th' Frog Choir, me sounds like a cat in heat, it does. But I'm plannin' t'join th' Quidditch team, though!” Saoirse said with a smile.

“I am sure you are going to do great,” Passer said, putting a loving arm around his girlfriend.

Lobelia returned to her breakfast. Today was going to be a busy day.

Lobelia was back in the Slytherin Dungeons in front of Professor Slughorn’s office. 

“Better get this over with,” she said before knocking on the door.

She heard a jolly “Come in!” from the other side, so she opened the door and went in.

Lobelia’s first impression of the office was that it was quite gloomy and dark since it was in the dungeons. The lights were dim, but bright enough to see where everything was. Professor Slughorn sat behind his desk filled with piles of open parchment papers and books. He was writing something on a parchment before he looked up at Lobelia.

“Ah, Ms. Prince. Pleasure seeing you. Sit. Sit,”

Lobelia situated herself in one of the two chairs in front of his desk. They were surprisingly comfortable.

“How has your summer been?” Slughorn asked.

Lobelia caught herself before she could tell him how horrible it was. First, she almost died from dragon pox. Then, lost two of her best friends. Now, one is actively ruining her reputation. And she can’t find Severus Snape. Horrible is putting things nicely.

“It was fine. Yours?”

“Mine was absolutely wonderful. You know, one of my contacts just sent me some rare potion ingredients —,”

Lobelia blocked out most of what Professor Slughorn was saying about this contact. It was most likely someone who used to be a part of his Slug Club. Honestly, she did not really like the man. Despite being head of Slytherin, he was too laissez faire in her opinion. He’s letting blood supremacy and recruitment of Death Eaters run rampant. Professor Slughorn might have a friendly disposition, but he was very difficult to get to if you were having trouble. She knew from experience.

“Now, Ms. Prince. What do you plan to do after you graduate Hogwarts?”

“I want to become a healer,” Lobelia replied.

“Marvelous! Such an admirable career path. There are never enough healers. Based on your OWLs scores, you meet the criteria to be in the necessary NEWT classes. What electives would you like to take?” Slughorn asked.

“I would like to continue studying Divination and Muggle Studies,”

“Interesting,” Slughorn said, halfheartedly as he wrote things down,”

“I would also like to join the Frog Choir,” Lobelia continued.

“You have to discuss joining the Frog Choir with Flitwick. If I remember correctly, they meet during the weekends. Do you know the location of his office?”

Lobelia shook her head.

Slughorn did some more writing before handing Lobelia two sheets of parchment.

“Here you are. Your schedule and directions to Flitwick’s office,”

Lobelia read her schedule.

Course Schedule

“Thank you, Professor,” Lobelia said as she got up from her seat.

“Run along now,” Slughorn laughed.

Lobelia left the office and was on her way to Professor Flitwick’s office.

Lobelia wanted to bang her head against a wall until she went unconscious from the shame. She, a sixth year, was lost.

“Where the fuck am I?”

She was wandering the seventh floor for almost an hour.

“You know what? I give up,” she mumbled before walking back down the stairs. She made sure to go down them fast just in case they moved on her and sent her to another part of the castle that she wasn’t 100% familiar with. This was what she gets for not exploring and keeping to herself most of the time in the library or the Slytherin Common Room. Lobelia decided that it would be better to wait until dinnertime to talk to Professor Flitwick. She had the rest of the day free, so she could just go to the library to research about the wizarding world in America.

Lobelia thankfully made it to the first floor before the stairs started to move. When she was there, a group of students rushed past her.

“Rude,” she grumbled.

They almost bumped into her. Lobelia was going to be on her way when a girl whispered to her friend “Those Marauders and Snape were at it again,”

Lobelia perked up at that. She didn’t know or care about who the Marauders were, but Snape? She had to go and see.

Lobelia followed the hordes of students down the hallway. She pushed through the crowd and to near the front to see the commotion. There were four against one, them pointing their wands at each other in a standoff.

Lobelia realized that Passer was right when he said that she would know who Snape was once she saw him. His appearance was very distinct with his hooked nose and oily black hair. He had prominent bags under his midnight eyes. She did not understand why Regulus was so offended to be similar to Severus. He was not conventionally attractive, but he wasn’t some grotesque troll.

“Cat got your tongue, Snivellus?” one of the Marauders jibbed.

Snape scowled, taking a step back.

Another of the Marauders was the first to strike.

“Levicorpus!”

“Protego!” Snape shouted, defending himself.

This began the slew of hexes. Despite the unequal playing field, Severus was holding his own. The students from every single house except Slytherin were cheering. Lobelia glared at her housemates who just watched.

She had to do something. Lobelia took her wand out of her hollister and pointed it at the one with the round glasses.

“Expelliarmus,” she whispered, a flash of red light shot out of her wand and onto the Marauder with glasses which caused his wand to fly out of his hand and him falling onto the ground. Lobelia couldn’t help but giggle as he fell.

“You alright, Prongs?” the black haired one asked, helping the one with glasses to his feet.

“Who shot that?” the guy in glasses demanded, looking throughout the crowd.

Lobelia hid behind some taller Slytherin students. Thankfully, just about everyone was too caught up with the battle to see her cast the spell. While everyone was looking amongst themselves for the culprit, a student shouted, “A professor is coming!” causing everyone to disperse.

“Severus, wait!” Lobelia called amongst the chaos, but he was already gone.

“Damn, he’s fast,”  

At least she knew what he looked like now. Lobelia was about to depart until someone cleared their throat behind her. She looked back to see Professor McGonagall looking at Lobelia with a raised brow.

“What are you doing loitering in the hallways, Ms. Prince?” McGonagall asked.

“I was, uh…distracted by that cute boy over there,” Lobelia lied quickly, pointing in a random direction.

“Ms. Prince, that is a suit of armor,”

“It’s a rather attractive suit of armor if you ask me,”

“Merlin, help me. Just find something to do other than ogling the suits of armor,” McGonagall exhaled.

“On it,” Lobelia said before retreating to the library.