A New Snake

Chapter 19

Like every year, the Platform was in chaos as soon as the students disembarked. Parents and siblings were rushing forward to hug and kiss and help with luggage. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came for the Weasley children, who all hugged their friends goodbye before leaving for the dinner Mrs. Weasley had just made. Mr. and Mrs. Granger were next to come greeted Harry cordially, asked the group how their school year had been, and walked away with Hermione as she spilled about her classes and everything that had happened that year that she hadn't sent in a letter. Next was Luna who jumped into her father's arms when he came into view. She parted with a hug and her usual strange words. Neville and Cedric left at once. Cedric's parents came to get him alongside Neville's nan and they all said goodbye, promising to owl. With the rest of their friend group gone, Lily and Harry made their way to a less populated part of the Platform where Severus was waiting beside the Malfoys. As the two walked up, Draco also emerged from the crowd. They parted, but not without Lily politely bidding adieu to her godparents, which Harry was both surprised and unsurprised to find out. As they walked to a floo—they had decided in the last few days that it would be safer to floo than for Severus to try to side-apparate two children—Lily spoke, "Did you know, Harry," She said, "That your mother was my godmother as well?"

Harry looked at her in surprise and shook his head, "No, I didn't." Lily smiled at him and flooed to her home, and Harry's new one. He took a deep breath, grabbed a handful of floo powder, let out the breath and did the same thing he did in Second Year, but he made sure to say it correctly and clearly.

He tumbled out into the Snapes' living room, somehow managing to protect his glasses in the fall. Lily laughed, brushing soot from her clothes and reminding herself to ask her father to get the fireplace cleaned, "I guess I'm going to have to teach you how to come out of a floo properly, aren't I?" Harry scowled a little and wiped grime from his glasses. Despite how unpleasant flooing was, he was sure that he didn't want to know how bad other modes of Wizarding transportation was. He would much rather have flown, however.

Lily chuckled and grabbed Harry by the hand, interrupting his attack on his clothes. "C'mon, I'll show you to your room."

Severus came through the floo, "Be in the kitchen by six, you two."

Lily shouted back from the hall, "Yes, Papa!"

They reached a door in the hall that was closed and a little worn. Across the hall from the door was another door, better kept, with a sign on it saying "Lily's Room" in pretty, hand-painted cursive. Surrounded by white roses and lilies.

"C'mon, Harry. Let's put your things in your room. I'm gonna have to get dad to let me repaint that door." She pulled him into the unused room. It was empty save for some dust bunnies and cobwebs, perhaps a spider or two. The carpet was originally a nice emerald color, but was nearly grey with dust. Lily would have used magic to clean up the room, but even when there are no muggles around, they can't use underage magic.

"We can tidy things up after dinner," Lily assured, "Just put your things down somewhere and we can hang out in my room. I've got some things I want to show you." She left him and walked into her room. He carefully put his trunk against the wall near the door, put Hedwig's cage by the large window, and let her out to hunt. They were both glad on that front that they weren't at the Dursleys'. Once he was sure she'd be okay, he left the window open and her cage and went across the hall to Lily's room.

He found her sitting on her canopy bed and holding a Slytherin-green book with silver writing. Her room was pretty, but not incredibly girly. Her sheets were champagne-coloured; she had a lavender duvet and a faux fur, royal purple throw on her bed. In the corner beside her window was an ivory-colored hammock chair with lavender throw-pillows in it. She had large bookshelves filled and over-flowing with tomes varying in sizes from as small as a business card, to some as big as an atlas and as thick as seven stacked atop each other. At the end of her bed sat her Hogwarts trunk, open and in the process of being unpacked. The carpet was a nice dusty pink and was so soft you could sleep on it. She had a small fireplace in one corner—currently not lit—in front of which sat two champagne-and-lavender striped armchairs. She had pale-pink flowing muslin—currently being blown around by the wind—as the canopy on her bed and part of the curtains on her window. The other curtains on the window were made of a thick, royal purple tweed.

Lily called him from the bed once she noticed him, "Harry, come here." He turned to her and sat beside her on her bed, "Did you know, that Merlin himself was a Slytherin?"

"Wow! Really?"

She nodded, "And not very many people know that. This book has all kind of cool facts about Slytherin. I have similar ones for Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. Papa got them for me when we decided I'd be going to Hogwarts. He wanted me to know everything about every house and not let my mind be swayed by what other people tell me or what house he and my mom were in. I'm guessing you let that Ronald Weasley influence you when you were first sorted?"

Harry flushed a little in shame, but nodded anyway. "Sometimes I wonder what might have happened had I been first sorted into Slytherin." They talked for a while about that and about other things: what they would be doing for the summer, their plans for the future in terms of occupation, and Harry's upcoming birthday.

"I never really had a birthday before Hogwarts, and even then, I usually just got birthday wishes and sweets in the mail from my friends. But I don't mind. I would rather have nothing than become like Dudley."

From that moment Lily swore to shower Harry in gifts as much as was in her ability. She would make sure that he wouldn't want for anything; that he would be as much appreciated as he deserved; that he would never feel like he was alone in the fight that is the life of Harry Potter. She swore to herself as he changed the subject and started talking about next school year's Quidditch tryouts, that he would never be alone or unwanted again. Not as long as she lived.

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