Heaven and Hell

2nd Chapter - How it Began

(September 1971)

Serena Potter couldn't remember having ever been this excited before. This summer, she and her brother James had turned eleven - old enough to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While receiving a Hogwarts letter was theoretically more important for Muggle-born children, who often had no clue about possessing magical powers until that very day, the letter was quite achingly awaited by children from wizard families. After all, it was the official affirmation that they weren't Squibs.

The twins had gotten their Hogwarts letters on their birthday, announcing the start of term on September 1. Serena had been overjoyed, and the letter became so dog-eared from being read over again that it threatened to fall apart whenever she touched it. James was no less enthusiastic; they'd both been waiting ages to be old enough to learn and do magic - legally, anyway.

After their mother had taken them to Diagon Alley and bought their school supplies, Serena's only interest was in her new schoolbooks. She'd read them all and had - with a small thrill of delight - managed some of them successfully.

And now it was September 1st, and she had never been more excited. Today she would finally see Hogwarts. She was already dressed at half past six, and was waiting impatiently at the front door when James wandered downstairs in his pajamas, shaking his head in amusement over her enthusiasm.

"Train doesn't leave before eleven," he mumbled sleepily. "You're crazy. Sit down and eat. I'm sure that Mum will get us to King's Cross on time, even if we don't leave right now."

Much to Serena's dismay, her parents shared James' sentiments and only leisurely got ready to go.

At ten o'clock sharp, the twins crossed the magical barrier between platforms nine and ten with their mother. Serena had pestered her family unrelentingly until they had set off and so they arrived at King's Cross Station a good deal earlier than would have been necessary. The platform was only just beginning to fill with people. Ironically enough, most of them were also families with first years who obviously couldn't be bothered to wait at home any longer. The twins dropped their baggage off into a free compartment and went back out again to say goodbye to their mother.

"Look after your sister," she told James, who grinned patiently. "And for goodness' sake, James Alexander, behave yourself. I don't want an owl a day till seventh year!" She eyed her son balefully. "And none of your shenanigans with young Sirius, either, or you'll get nothing but Howlers for Christmas." Her expression softened a little and she hugged him. "And keep up your marks, you hear."

"I will, Mum. And I'll try not to get in trouble," said James, his face the picture of innocence. Serena, however, could see his fingers crossed behind his back. Running off, he yelled over his shoulder, "Bye Mum! I'm going to go find Sirius! I'll write you when we get there!" The next moment he was gone, disappeared behind a crowd of students who gave each other a joyous welcome.

Serena made a mental note to stay away from James and Sirius. The Blacks lived practically next door to the Potters. Their only son Sirius had gone to the same elementary school as the twins and was best friends with James. Serena had quickly learned that both boys shared a penchant for pranks that had never excluded girls out of any kind of chivalry.

She felt a touch on her arm, and looked up at her mother. 'She's getting sentimental,' thought Serena, wishing - a little guiltily - that she'd given her mother the mandatory hug and kiss, and run off behind James.

"It seems just yesterday you two were toddlers, darling." Her mother smiled with wistful nostalgia, snuffling a little. "And now you're going to Hogwarts, and before we know it you'll both be grown." She pulled Serena into a hug and whispered into her daughter's ear, "And don't believe everything your brother tells you, darling; he's usually only teasing."

She was referring to an incident about a month back, when James and Sirius had come up with their own explanation for how the Sorting was done. Most people, they admitted, had it done the way that was described in Hogwarts, A History: the Sorting Hat sat on your head, got in your mind, and figured out where you belonged. But if you were too complicated - and this almost always happened with girls, said Sirius, and James had nodded vigorously - the Hat took a bite out of your ears and used the flavor to determine where to place you. Serena had decided that no matter how wonderful Hogwarts was, she liked her ears the way they were. It had taken her father nearly an hour to convince her that the boys had only been teasing. James had been properly repentant when he'd come back home from Sirius's to find his sister arguing with his father, her arms crossed, chin out, angry tears coursing down her stubborn cheeks - but he hadn't given up teasing, and she was still wary.

Serena hugged her mother back. "I will, Mum."

Her mother smiled and kissed Serena's hair when the whistle blew, announcing that it was time for the train to depart. "And I'll write you when we get there - bye!", Serena called and hopped aboard before the conductor shut the door. She leaned out the window, finally spotting her mother and waving to her frantically. Her mother was waving at someone else, too, further along the train, and Serena surmised that James and Sirius had already settled into their compartment. When the train began to move, she withdrew from the window and went to join them.

* * *

Severus cursed under his breath. If his father hadn't had to finish that bloody potion, they would have arrived earlier at King's Cross Station. But no, they had been forced to wait until the potion turned bright green and that hadn't happened until it had almost been too late for him to catch the train. When Severus finally had reached platform nine and three-quarters, the conductor was about to shut the doors of the train. He had hurriedly picked up Severus, trunk and all, deposited him unceremoniously, slammed the doors shut and given the signal for the Express to leave.

And now Severus was dragging his heavy, worn trunk along the corridor, and looking nervously into the compartments, searching for a free seat - in vain, so far. He was just about to leave the wagon and proceed to the next one, when a black haired girl came out of it. She wasn't carrying any luggage, so she had obviously found a seat. Lucky for her.

Severus moved aside to let her pass when she spoke to him. "Hello, are you looking for a seat?"

"Yes, I am. But all the compartments are already full, it seems."

"You can sit with us, if you like. I'm Serena." She smiled cheerfully at him.

He looked at her carefully. She wore simple travel robes and a cloak, no Muggle clothes. And while she looked excited, she didn't have the half-terrified, half-amazed look that he had seen on some obviously Muggle-born children. The chances were good that she was pureblood then, and Severus finally smiled at her.

"Thank you. I'm Severus." He stuck out his hand, and she shook it. She had a firm grip, he noticed. Then she turned around, and he followed her to her compartment. Just before she opened the door, he peered into the window.

The compartment was already occupied by three boys, apparently all first years. The boy in the left window seat looked rather shabby; his long cloak was patchy and worn, and he also looked rather ill. His eyes were shut and he seemed to be asleep.

Next to the sleeper, there were two black-haired boys. One was talking excitedly, and had blue eyes, glasses, untidy hair, and looked oddly like Serena. Severus wondered if he'd climbed out of bed and forgotten to comb his hair, or if he was always a mess. The other was laughing at something the bespectacled boy had said, his eyes dancing with mischief.

They walked in, and the pair turned around. "Is it okay if he sits with us?" Serena asked. "The train's practically full, and he hasn't a seat yet."

"Sure, come in," said the boy in the middle.

Severus grunted as he shoved his trunk under a seat. "Thanks. I'm Severus Snape," he said, sitting down next to Serena, who had taken a seat by the window.

"James Potter," said the boy with glasses. "I'm Serena's brother. And this is Sirius Black -", he added, grinning, as if the other boy wasn't capable of speaking for himself.

Sirius punched his arm, and they promptly fell to tussling. Serena rolled her eyes. "They're always like that," she told Severus. "People think they're brothers sometimes - they're always playing, they act about four." Her eyes fell on the sleeping boy in front of them. "Jim, who's this?"

"Huh?" said James, who had evidently lost the brief wrestling match. He wiped his glasses and pushed them back on his nose. "Oh, him. His name's Remus Lupin, he came on with his mum. He told us his name and fell asleep almost straightaway. Seems pretty tired."

Severus eyed Remus suspiciously, but didn't see anything indicating something infectious. So he decided to ignore him and asked Serena, "So you and James are twins, aren't you?" They looked very much alike, though they didn't act it, and they had the same bright look in their equally blue eyes.

She nodded. "Yeah, but Jim's about ten minutes older - "

"Twelve," said James.

"Eleven and a half. Anyway, that's why he's convinced he's my big brother and he's got to watch out for me."

"When he's not sticking ice down your shirt and putting frogs in your bed," sniggered Sirius.

Serena rolled her eyes. "That too. But now that we're at Hogwarts, he can't watch over me any longer."

"Why?" Severus and James asked simultaneously.

"Because we'll be sorted into different Houses, and then he won't be able to follow me around any more."

"How do you know what House you'll be in?" asked Severus curiously. "I thought the Sorting Hat decided, not us."

"I'll manage it somehow," Serena answered confidently.

"I'm hurt," said James, not looking hurt at all. "Are you really that tired of me, little sis?" He made puppy eyes, and then winked at her. "You know, if you try to trick the Sorting Hat it'll bite your ear off..." Waggling his eyebrows, he grinned.

"Shut up, you don't scare me anymore!" Serena pulled the clasp from her cloak and threw it at James. But he ducked and it hit Sirius, who yelped, and then it fell down. James promptly picked the clasp up and threw it back. Severus caught it, though.

"I think I'm glad I'm an only child," he muttered.

"I hear you, mate," said Sirius cheerfully. "If you ever need a sister, though, you can always help James with Serena - she'll end up killing him someday otherwise." He dodged James's swing at his head and asked curiously, "You really don't have any siblings? Sometimes I wondered if I was the only lucky one."

"Nope - it's just me."

"Same with Remus, according to his mum," said James, and added, "Which House do you think you'll get into? I'm thinking Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, because my parents were in them."

He cast a glance aside, but Remus obviously had no comment, as he was still sleeping.

But Sirius answered, "My mum was a Hufflepuff, my dad's a Muggle. But I'm a lot more like Dad than Mum, so I doubt I'll be in Hufflepuff." He shrugged. "I'll wait and see."

Severus had to contain himself in order to keep a straight face and not sneer at the half-blood. His father had already told him that every peasant was accepted at Hogwarts. He would have rather sent Severus to Durmstrang, where the admission requirements weren't so 'lax'. Unfortunately, he couldn't afford to send his son to a school that was so far away.

Well. He couldn't afford it now. But the elder Snape never let his son forget that there had been a time when such a thing would have been more than possibility, or an option - it would have been a certainty from Severus' birth.

Severus cleared his throat and said, "A few of my relatives have gone to Hogwarts, and all of them were in Slytherin. If I'm not in Slytherin, my dad's probably going to kill me."

James watched Severus with sudden vigilance. Severus could practically see the wheels turning in his head, and wondered if he'd have the guts to voice his thoughts.

He did. In a would-be calm voice, James said, "I've heard my parents once say something about a family with the surname Snape, fairly rich and powerful. They were with - with Grindelwald, way back then, and when he went down they lost everything. You're not related to them, are you?"

The compartment went completely silent. Three pairs of eyes turned to Severus, and all he could hear was Remus's slow breathing.

He hesitated a moment. His father had warned him already that he would be asked that very thing, and that people were going to be prejudiced because of it. Well, he wasn't responsible for his ancestors' doings.

So he answered frostily, "Yes, they were my grandparents. And the issue with Grindelwald - those are all unproven rumors." He rolled his eyes. "After Grindelwald went down, the Aurors prowled all about the country, targeting everybody involved with him as well as people they thought were questionable. My grandparents were unlucky enough to be suspected, so the Aurors attacked and destroyed their Manor. The only one who made it through that night was my father, still a small child back then. He was sent to live with some distant aunt. And all that only because the family was questionable," Severus said, bitterly "The Ministry was never able to prove anything against them. They were simply killed."

Serena was listening with interest. "Wow, a real manor! We're only living in a dead ordinary house in an ordinary town. How long did it take to rebuild it?"

"It wasn't rebuilt. The Aurors confiscated everything," Severus answered. "So we're the same as you - dead ordinary house in an ordinary town." He didn't add that the town was a village and the house was a rambling old wreck of a bungalow. "But someday I'll go back and I'll find a way to rebuild it."

No one seemed to know what to say to that. Serena finally broke the awkward silence by changing the subject. "Slytherin sounds exciting. At any rate, Jim won't end up in that House for certain, so there I wouldn't be bothered by him."

James stared at her, flabbergasted. "Are you mental?" he asked incredulously. "Almost every dark wizard- " he looked at Severus and stopped, but everyone knew what he was going to say. Almost every dark wizard who ever lived came out of Slytherin.

"So it's time someone nice like me improved the statistics, right?" Serena replied mockingly.

She tried to look serious, but her twinkling eyes gave her away. James had opened his mouth to answer her sharply, but noticed the treacherous grin threatening to break at her lips, and started to laugh. It was infectious; Sirius and Serena joined in, and even Severus couldn't remain serious when he saw Serena's look. The nearly unbearable tension that had built up in the compartment suddenly evaporated. They spent the rest of the trip talking and joking around with less delicate subjects, and the hours flew by until dusk fell and the train slowed down and finally stopped.

* * *

The students poured out of the train onto the platform where they were greeted by a loud voice. "Firs' years! Firs' years, over here! Firs' years!"

The voice belonged to a huge man. He looked...well, wild, with his long bushy hair and the bristling black beard that covered most of his face. The first years crowded slowly around him and most of them looked rather uneasy. But the huge man grinned disarmingly, and boomed, "Rubeus Hagrid, Gamekeeper and Keeper o' Keys at Hogwarts. Firs' years, over here!" he bellowed again, and the people closest to him clapped their hands over their ears and winced.

When all first years were gathered, Hagrid led them along a short, narrow path, which ended by a large lake. In the darkness of the falling night, the calm water looked like petroleum, black and motionless. Serena's jaw dropped, and her eyes were all for the sight on the other side of the lake.

There, atop a mountain, sat Hogwarts, their destination. It was absolutely huge, with a hundred soaring towers and great battlements. Countless lighted windows were set in the vast stone walls, glittering there like a million diamonds. She had already seen a picture of Hogwarts in a book, but in real life it was far more impressive, even at this distance.

The first years crossed the lake with small boats, which skittered swiftly over the water by their own power. The boats entered a tunnel, hidden behind a curtain of ivy, which led into a cave right underneath the castle where they finally docked.

After climbing up a flight of stone steps, following Hagrid through a passageway and up more stairs, they came to a large oak front door. A witch stood there, already waiting for them. She wore emerald green robes and strange looking square glasses, through which she looked them over sternly. Her black hair was drawn severely back into a tight bun, and it crossed Serena's mind that if she relaxed her face and put down her hair, she would look quite nice. The witch ushered them all through the entrance hall and into a small chamber before giving them what was probably only the first of many welcoming speeches.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, everyone. I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress. In a moment, you will be Sorted into one of four Houses. As some of you may know, these are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. You will remain in your House for the duration of your stay at Hogwarts, and you will earn - or lose - House points depending upon your results at school and your behavior and willingness to obey rules. At year's end, the House with the most points will win the Inter-House Championship, which is an achievement of much honour and prestige for the House.

"In a moment you will enter the Great Hall, where the other students are already waiting. You will form a line in front of the High Table and then wait until your name is called. After you have been Sorted, you will sit at the table of your respective House and then it is the next student's turn. Any questions?"

Nobody had a question - or at least nobody dared to ask the stern looking witch anything - so Professor McGonagall opened a door in the wall and looked at something behind it. After a few seconds she nodded and moved to let the students enter. They stepped into the Great Hall and formed a line in front of the High Table as requested, and Serena chanced a look upwards at Hogwarts' famed enchanted ceiling. She caught her breath. Clouds wandered across the dark sky and occasionally hid some stars. It really was beautiful; she'd read about it, but then, reading about something wasn't the same as actually seeing it.

Professor McGonagall brought in an old stool with an even older hat sitting on it. She placed both in front of the first years and stepped aside. While the Sorting Hat started to sing, Serena looked around curiously, and gulped a little. She'd only just realized that there were several hundred students there, all sitting at four long tables and all staring at the first years. She wondered, again, which table she would be sitting at for the next seven years.

After the Sorting Hat had finished its song, they were called up in alphabetical order to be Sorted. Each person perched on the stool with the Hat on their head; it was usually a little while before the Hat opened up at the brim and yelled a House name for the whole hall to hear, but with some it took hardly any time, and with others it took quite a while. Serena still watched the sky at the ceiling, but her ears pricked when she heard a familiar name.

"Black, Sirius," became a Gryffindor almost instantly, and so was "Lupin, Remus," the sleeping boy from the train. After some deliberation, "Pettigrew, Peter," was made Gryffindor, too. The sound of his name made Serena's heart start pounding. They were already at 'P'. The next one could be Jim. And as it happened, while Peter sat down next to Sirius, "Potter, James," was called. It wasn't quite as immediate as it had been with Sirius - Serena grinned, thinking that the hat was probably weighing Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw - but it finally bellowed, "GRYFFINDOR!"

James sat down at the table of his new House amid loud applause and cheers and the next name was read out. "Potter, Serena!"

Now it was her turn. While she walked up to the stool, Serena pondered about which House she actually wanted to be in. When she said on the train that she wanted to be somewhere else than her brother she had meant it in earnest. But did she have any sort of influence on the hat's decision at all?

The Sorting Hat took her surroundings from sight when it slipped down over her ears and nose. It was just too big for a small child's head. Was it originally made for an adult, and therefore for a completely different purpose, perhaps?

"Oh, that was such a long time ago that I no longer remember," said a faint voice in Serena's ear.

'You can hear my thoughts,' she thought, amazed.

"Of course I can. How am I supposed to Sort you otherwise?"

'So you won't bite me?'

"You're not the first one to ask that, believe me. For the record, I won't."

Relief flooded through her. Now that she knew for sure that her ears were safe, she relaxed considerably.

Meanwhile the hat continued. "Well, let's see...brave, certainly, and you've got your heart in the right place. You're clever, eager, and you want to prove yourself, do you? These are very Gryffindor-like traits..."

'Oh no, anything but Gryffindor,' Serena thought disappointedly.

"I'm not finished yet! But I'm not sorting you elsewhere simply because you want to show you can cope without your brother. Hmm, what else... not a bad mind, not at all... you've got ambition, more obstinacy than what's good for you, and a clear capacity for ruthlessness. You really would go to a great deal of trouble to achieve your aims, wouldn't you? Well, then, better be SLYTHERIN!"

Serena heard the hat shouting the last word into the Great Hall. The students at the Slytherin table applauded thunderously to welcome their new House member. On her way to the table she caught a glimpse of her brother who stared at her, clearly shocked. She quickly averted her eyes and sat down.

Meanwhile the Sorting continued. "Snape, Severus," the boy who'd sat with her on the train, was the next Slytherin. He sat down beside her again and raised his eyebrows.

"I thought you were only joking when you said you wanted to be a Slytherin." With a sidelong glance at James he added, "And I guess your brother believed it as well."

Serena shrugged. "Either way, it's too late to change it now. And I bet Slytherin waited a long time for someone sweet and charming as me." She grinned wickedly, looking anything but sweet and charming. Despite himself, Severus grinned back.

During the feast, Serena watched the other students at her table. It seemed that the horror stories about Slytherin were grossly exaggerated. Serena could judge people fairly well and had seldom needed to correct her first impression about anyone. And to her, all these students appeared to be relatively normal.

Admittedly, there were also some who were quite arrogant or just mean, but such people could be found everywhere. The worst seemed to be a second year named Lucius Malfoy. He was a born braggart; Serena had heard her parents talking about the Malfoys. They were an old family, though not always popular, and it was whispered that they were among those who gave Slytherin House its reputation. They were purebloods, but in contrast with the Snapes, they were still quite rich.

And spoiled, if Lucius was anything to go by. He was now going on about his new racing broom, and Quidditch, and sneering over at the Gryffindor table. And he made constant remarks about purebloods, though he was often a bit subtle with his needling.

Serena looked at his icy grey eyes. People said eyes were the windows to someone's soul. If Lucius had a soul - a broad assumption, it looked like - it would be colder than death, and about as kind. When Lucius noticed Serena staring at him, he met her gaze, and a cold shiver ran down her spine. She resolved at once to stay as far away from him as possible.

But on the other hand, there were also many nice students - like Severus, who had come out of his shell and was laughing, and Narcissa, a pretty blonde who was sitting across from her. Certainly she would get on well with them.