Chapter 2: Have Some Chocolate

"Lucy, we need to go!" Shouted Severus Snape up the forbidding stairs at his house in Spinners End.

It was a grim day as per usual and to make matters worse they were running late in getting to King's Cross.

A girl in knee high socks scuttled down the steps, her enchanted bag draped across her shoulder. Her trunk thudded noisily against every step on the way down in one hand. Her pet cat, Angus, sat in his cage that she carried in her other hand. Poor Angus hated his cage and felt he was being punished for being shoved inside so quickly.

"Why're you yelling at me?" Lucy whined. "I've just finished packing my trunk."

"We're late, that's why," he took her hand hastily. "The stupid clock stopped and we've only got ten minutes until the train leaves."

Snape handed Lucy his briefcase and took her trunk in exchange and without another word they were outside of the house and stood on the pavement. The sky was turning a darker shade of formidable rain and Lucy swore she felt a splatter of rain on her shoulder.

"Ready?" Snape asked, he liked Lucy to be prepared for apparition, always thinking of the time she fell and scraped her knee not so long ago. "One, two, three—" there was a flash of green light and Lucy felt herself being transported to King's Cross.

When they landed Lucy was immediately dragged by her robed father without a pause. They received looks from every muggle they passed, staring at the sight of Snape's billowing cape which was rather out of the ordinary.

"Why did you have to wear your robes in front of muggles, dad?" Lucy hissed quietly to him.

He barely turned to face her as he ploughed through the crowd. "Because we're late! Now come on!"

He pushed her towards Platforms Nine and Ten and Lucy took the final stretch herself by running through the pillar into Platform Nine and Three Quarters. The Hogwarts Express greeted like an old friend but she didn't have much time to admire it as Snape had taken her hand again. They dodged parents frantically waving to their children and eventually reached an entrance Lucy had never boarded at before at the front of the train.

"Why're we boarding here?" Lucy wondered.

"Because this is where the teachers board," he responded in his usual tone, the frustration had disappeared now that the panic was over. "You can board here since you're..." his voice trailed off.

Lucy hopped aboard and was met with an amazing sight. There was a chandelier hanging above her in the teachers' bar, an assortment of drinks and spirits lining the back wall.

"If you think this is good, you should see the individual compartments," Snape whispered to her.

He gestured in front of him and she trotted over to a wooden door. Lucy walked through and gasped at the carriages. They were much like the ones the students gathered in but the wood here was engraved with beautiful pictures of flowers and animals. It was like looking at the cave painting, but far more spectacular.

Snape walked to a carriage marked Number Nine and stepped inside. The seats that were usually smothered in cheap fabric were sewn with leather here and when Lucy sat down she seemed to sink into it. Snape took the seat opposite her, after shoving his briefcase and Lucy's trunk overhead and relaxed.

"Do you like it?" He asked.

"It's fantastic!" Lucy breathed, taking another once over of the compartment. "I didn't know there was such luxury."

"Thought you might. Thankfully we got here just in time." Snape's words left his mouth just before the train gave its final whistle and pulled away from the station.

Lucy watched as the landscape flew by them, the rain splattering on the window. Snape read the Daily Prophet, he'd seen the view outside too many times now and was far more interested and catching up on his usual read of the paper. He raised his eyebrows at a certain article sometime later though.

"What is it?" Lucy inquired at his sudden mood change.

Snape set his paper down and met her eyes. "Do you remember last year when that gang attacked us?"

Lucy nodded.

"Well, it turns out they managed to flee. But Ministry officials managed to capture the commander, his name was Thomas Bullivarda and he kept asking to be called as such: 'Commander.' He told the Ministry all about the Medieval Islands."

"The same Islands Shona and I learnt about in History of Magic?"

"Precisely. The Ministry won't say anymore about it but Dumbledore knows that the orb we found plays a key part in their return."

"Return of what?"

Snape's voice was somber. "Whoever sent those people to kill us."

Lucy gulped. "At least they captured Mr Bullivarda."

"Well, no," Snape showed her the article he was reading. There was a moving image of a cell that seemed to have suffered an explosion in the wall. He then flipped it back round to read. "Three days ago there was a break in to the vault where Mr Bullivarda was being kept. Someone broke into the security and blew him up...they found remains of his body parts and saw he had been injected with some kind of poisonous venom which slowly — "

"Okay," Lucy held up her hand and squeezed her eyes shut. "I get it."

Snape nodded, knowing Lucy needn't know the whole picture.

"Well at least he's gone. Now all we've got to worry about is mass murderer Sirius Black."

Snape raised an eyebrow before immersing himself back into his newspaper.

An hour slowly trickled by and they were still on the train. Two more hours and they'd arrive at Hogsmedge Station Lucy's watch confirmed. She had seen some teachers head to the bar but Snape had stayed locked in his compartment.

"I'm going to see my friends," Lucy got up swiftly, thinking this would allow Snape to make his way to the bar guilt free. She made it into the hallway before adding a tentative: "I won't be long."

Snape reopened the door and poked his head around the corner. "No goodbye?"

"Bye, dad!" She waved with a smile. He half smiled back and closed the door softly.

Lucy made her way out of the teachers carriages and into the student ones. She began glancing into each one in turn until she found two red haired boys chatting to Harry, they smiled as she opened the door.

"Hi!" Fred and George said together in unison. Harry smiled at her.

"Where are the others?"

"Oh, Ron's gone to get sweets from the trolly and Hermione's getting changed," replied George.

"But we have two hours!" Lucy said sitting down, noticing how hard the seats were.

"Exactly!" Said Fred. They all laughed at his joke.

They joked around for the next half hour, then wandered off to Hermione, studying with her books. There seemed to be a man in travelling gear with them, sleeping with his head against the glass.

"Hello!" Ron said as they all squeezed into the tiny compartment. Lucy looked out to the window and could see they were crossing a bridge. They all started to talk about what they had been doing over the holidays, when Ron just happened to gaze out into the corridor.

"Look! It's Shona!" He gasped. At that instant all of the teenagers bolted to the door. There she was sitting on her luggage, looking glum and tired in the corridor. She looked round and saw six eager faces tapping the glass, begging her to come in. She smiled and walked over. Lucy opened the door for her.

"Hi, Shona, I haven't heard of you all summer!"

"Been busy and all that" she said. "Dad needed some more cash in the house so I've been doing odd jobs," she sighed and squeezed in. As soon as they has settled down the train started to halt. All the children were flung in the wall in front of them.

"George! Your hands in my m...ou...th!" Muffled Fred.

"Sorry that's mine," Ron said.

"Hey who's squashing?" Harry asked, disgruntled.

"Ahh! Fluff ball hair attack!" Shouted George as Hermione's cat flew in his face.

As soon as the breaks stopped the train came to a strange halt. Everyone fell on the floor...Onto Shona.

"Ahh!" Shona said as the mountain of children were formed. The lights flickered off as they slowly returned to their feet. "Ah! I think I've just grown an inch!" Shona winced. They all looked at her, "I'm kidding!"

"Er...Guys" Ron stuttered as his hand on the glass turned pale. The whole of the window turned to frost, and a sick feeling of dread filled the train.

It was eerily silent. There were screams coming from other carriages.

"That's it I'm going back to dad!" Lucy quivered, she was terrified at this point and all the bad events at Hogwarts over the past two years came trickling back into her mind.

But before she could react a shadowy figure approached the door. It floated slowly with  an outstretched hand. 'This is un-human' Lucy thought. The door was slid open by some force and the hooded figure filled the room with fright. It had a strange cape and it covered by a cloth. Lucy whimpered but then Harry started to wince. Then fell on the floor.

"Harry!" Lucy shrieked.

The hooded creature saw her move and began to suck in her happiness. Lucy winced as she felt her brain being racked of her memories: winning her first quidditch match and when her dad comforted her in the hospital wing. This hooded creature was reading her mind like a book.

"Expecto patronum!" Said a man's voice. The sleeping man had woken and a beautiful light appeared from his wand. This scared the creature away, but Lucy couldn't remember the rest because she fainted on the floor.

*   *   *

"Is Lucy-Lu coming round yet?" Asked Fred.

"Is she alright? Harry's awake, but I don't see why Lucy's taking forever," George exclaimed.

"She faints too much. I bet you she's using this as a decoy to sleep," Shona chuckled.

Lucy opened her eyes and saw her friends gathering around her. The man who cast the spell was in front of her. "Ah, she's awake." He offered his hand and Lucy took it, he hauled her up into a sitting position.

"Who're you?" Lucy's abrupt manner unfiltered by her confusion made her wince as soon as the words had left her mouth. She could just see Snape's disapproving face in her minds eye if he heard her talking in such a way to a stranger.

But the man wasn't bothered by her words. "Remus Lupin, nice to meet you."

"Lucy. I'm Lucy Snape," she offered her hand and he shook it. "Pleasure to meet you, Sir." The image of Snape in her mind was satisfied and strutted off, cape swishing behind him.

"Any relation to Professor Snape?"

Lucy stopped rubbing her eyes and Remus suddenly seemed distorted before her. "He's my father, he adopted me."

Just like her abrupt first words to him, this did not seem to bother Remus Lupin like it did to others. He offered her a kind smile and then a bar of Honeydukes chocolate. "Eat this, you'll feel better after that."

Lucy assumed he meant whatever that hooded figure was and not being adopted by Snape.

Lucy took the chocolate with thanks and stiffly and ate it while Harry turned to Remus. "Sir, what was that?"

"That, Harry, was a dementor searching for Sirius Black."

The air in the compartment felt too cold and it was hard to believe the dementor had ever left.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to have a word with the driver." And with that Lupin walked off.

"He seems nice," Lucy commented. "I wonder if he's the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor?"

"God I hope so," Ron announced and eyed up the Honeydukes chocolate bar as he spoke. "Anyone has got to be better than Lockhart."

"He did just save us all from a dementor, he can't be too bad," Shona shrugged.

Lucy finished up the square of chocolate she'd been nibbling on and then handed the Honeydukes confectionary to Ron. "Expecto Patronum..." she muttered.

Suddenly a caped figure appeared outside the open compartment door causing Shona to scream"Dementor!"  She ran into it and they flew into the door behind them.

"Get off of me, you idiot!" Came the disgruntled roar of Snape. He threw McGuire off of him where she landed unceremoniously on the floor. In all the commotion a few compartment doors slipped open and heads peered around to see what was going on. Snape glared at them and they giggled as they retreated back inside.

"Merlin's beard, Snivy," Shona huffed as she propped herself up on her elbows. "There's no need to throw me on the floor, it's not my fault there was a dementor here. You scared me after all th—"

"A dementor?" Snape's focus was back on her.

"Yeah, didn't you get one down in the teachers carriages? One personally came and introduced himself to Harry and Lucy—"

Yes, there had been a few dementors that floated down the hallway separating the teachers carriages but none had stayed to inquire over their summers. Panic rose inside Snape as he saw Lucy's complexion looking paler than usual. His eyes rested on her before he jerked his head in command for her to follow and she did, her friends offering apologetic glances as she left.

When the door slammed on his compartment Snape gestured for her to sit while he stood and paced. "What happened?"

"Well, the train stopped as you know and then all the lights went out. Next thing we all knew one of those dementors came in and I just sort of...fainted." She didn't want to put  it so bluntly but it seemed the only way. "But luckily a man, Remus Lupin, was there to save us."

Snape stopped pacing and glared at the shut door.

"He seems nice," Lucy offered to try and pacify her father.

"I'm sure he was delightful," Snape stopped pacing and faced her. "But you are to stay with me for the remainder of the train journey."

"But I'm fine!" She protested. "A little shaken, of course but I'm fine. I promise."

"No, if a dementor comes back I want to be there with you."

"Dad — "

"I will be having words with Dumbledore about this as soon as possible, dementors should be looking for Sirius Black not be attacking thirteen year old girls."

"Dad — !"

"Ruddy things shouldn't be at Hogwarts in the first place let alone — "

"DAD!" She resorted to yelling and it finally got Snape to listen; he stopped instantly. Lucy stood up and placed her hands on his shoulders. "I know you've been nervous since the Basilisk, but you need to trust me when I say I'm fine. I know the Dementor might return but it was looking for Sirius Black not me. If you're really nervous I'll stay with you but I'd like to catch up with my friends."

Snape just stared at her. Lucy never spoke like this to him.

"Very well."

She smiled at him and opened the compartment door, about to head off.

"But stay alert!" He said abruptly causing her to pause. "If you see anything — "

"I'll come straight back," Lucy finished his sentence reassuringly and then she left as swiftly as Remus had earlier.

Snape collapsed on the leather seat and coughed. The wind had been blown out of him after Shona had nearly shoved him over, that girl surely had some strength. Surely if she could nearly take down her Potions Master she could defend Lucy. Snape got up abruptly and shouted down the corridor:

"Lucy, tell McGuire — "

But she'd already gone, no doubt already deep in conversation with her friends as she'd promised.

"Can I help you, Sir?" Asked a female voice. Snape turned round instantly to see a young lady standing there. Well, not young but she was in her late thirties, unlike most of the teaching staff, the only 'young ones' were Snape and now Lupin. She had long black hair that seemed to twist and curl at the ends. Her navy eyes looked into his own innocently.

Snape stood to attention, regaining his composure. "No, thank you."

She held out her hand before the silence teetered on the edge of being awkward. "I'm Jessica Stone, I'm one of the university students that have come for work experience this year."

Snape shook her hand and he could feel himself begin to perspire slightly, surely must be the shock that McGuire had put into him. It had nothing to do with the young lady in front of him. He tried to focus on the sound of teachers laughing just down the hall at the bar, their voices only slightly muffled by the door.

"And who are you? I've been trying to get to know all the teachers by hanging around at the bar but I haven't seen you yet." The train went over a bump and Snape gripped her hand a little tighter to prevent her from falling. He wanted to kick himself when he realised she was steady on her feet and didn't need the help.

"Snape. Severus Snape — Professor Severus Snape," he corrected himself and then wondered if he should've hung around the bar so he could've blamed his stumbling on drink.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir," Jessica smiled and then added coyly: "I mean, Professor Snape. I hope we meet again."

She then walked off, lady robes sweeping behind her.

"Nice meeting you," Snape responded far too late and then slammed the door, almost trapping himself in the frame.

He cursed loudly about his pathetic attempt at introducing himself and snatched up the newspaper in a rage. His heart pounded in frustration, unable to stop thinking about Jessica Stone.