The Green Flame Torch

Chapter 2: A Chance Meeting

Ten years had gone by and the sleeping child was around twelve. She was called Lilah Snape even though her first name was actually Variana. Her family refused to call her by her first name and in the grand tradition of snobs gave no reason for this. So Lilah went by her middle name. She didn't mind because she was named after Harry Potter's mother. To top it all, her mother was friends with Lily Potter in school. The name gave Lilah a sense of bravery and importance and she loved it.

At the time, Lilah and her mother Imogen were living in Surrey. Lilah was an average eleven-year-old girl living a normal Muggle life and didn't mind one bit, at least that is what she told herself. She spent her days talking on the phone for hours with her best friend Athena and giggling about boys. She loved to go to parties and spend time with her small elite group of girlfriends. The group consisted of five girls: Lilah Snape, Athena LaFuerte, Agnes Hopkins, Kathryne Jenkinson, and Frances Cummings. Although Lilah had only been living in Surrey for a couple months she had created such a tight bond with these girls it could be guessed that she had known them forever. The fact was that Lilah never really had problems when making friends. She had a gift to make very strong attachments wherever she was. The reason most likely was because of a gift she had ever since she was born. Lilah was empathetic and had the power to read others emotions. It was, however, was not constant and had to be channeled up by Lilah herself.

One afternoon Lilah was walking home from St. Mary's Secondary School for Girls. Her light brown hair was short and curled under with a bright red headband to decorate. The headband matched perfectly with her bright red pleated skirt, blazer, and tie. She carried a satchel, which had stickers and patches of snakes, flowers, and moons on it. Her face was tan and very pretty with a small mole under her left eye. She had distant almond shaped hazel eyes that were usually watching the floor. To an outside person it couldn't be guessed that she was a witch.

Lilah didn't like to leave school with her friends and go home to a household with just her mum and her owl, Boo. So everyday she walked home as slowly as possible. Today her pace was exceptionally snail-like. The reason for this was that today her mother and her were to go on holiday for the summer, which to most children is a great event. But, not to Lilah, going on holiday meant she would have to visit grandmama in Token. It wasn't that grandmama was horrid, but that she tried to control everyone's life. Every time they went to Abundantia fights broke out between grandmama and Imogen. They usually, if not always were about Lilah. Lilah could see it now, they'd arrive and grandmama would look at Lilah and say, "She is growing up so quickly. 'Tis about time she was in school, is it not?" and then Imogen would say, "Mum how many times must we go through this, she is not going to wizarding school, as of yet." Ever since Lilah turned eleven, last Halloween, this argument had been the most prevalent in that household. "She'll be behind the other children if she enters late. Think about her future Imogen!" grandmama would continue. "I am mum!" Imogen would scream back. The argument would go around in circles like this until Lilah changed the subject or food was served.

Lilah tried to prolong her arrival home by taking roads she had never been down before in hopes of getting lost. She arrived at Privet and Wessings and she turned left on Privet. As she walked down this new street she saw a group of boys, lead by a chubby blonde boy around eleven run across the street. They spread out by directions from the chubby one and began to look behind houses, in hedges, and in trash bins. Lilah walked up to the boys curious as to what they were looking for. As she approached, the chubby one ran up to her.

"Have you seen a scrawny boy... with huge glasses...and black hair?" he said panting from the little run he did towards her.

She shook her head no. The chubby boy sighed and stomped of extremely upset. Lilah paid no mind and continued her walk up the street almost getting run over by the searching boys two or three times. She became a bit frustrated and wanted them to find the boy so that they would stop nearly killing her. As she headed on her way she saw a small black head peak up from behind a hedge and duck back down. Lilah opened her mouth but, then the boy poked his head out again and his face was panicked. She stood still and focused on the hedge and concentrated on the small boy behind the hedge. Soon her stomach began to turn, her heart began to race and the feeling that she was trapped surrounded her and she almost screamed out. She slowly walked towards the bush and peaked over. The small boy backed against the wall with a pitiful look. She placed her finger over her lips and walked out on the sidewalk.

"Oy, lads, is the boy your looking for have a striped shirt on?" Lilah yelled out.

The chubby one looked up.

"Yeah, why?" he said.

"Because I think I just saw a boy like that run down Wessings."

The boys collected together like a flock of bees and proceeded down Wessings, with the chubby one lagging behind. Lilah hurried back to the hedge.

"Are you alright?" she said as she helped the boy up.

"Thanks, I thought you were going to . . . well never mind that, thanks again." The boy said as he pushed his messy hair out of his face.

His glasses were broken and being held together with tape, his eyes were a bright green, and he had the most peculiar scar on his forehead that looked like a lightning bolt. Lilah felt her stomach jump and her mouth drop.

"You're....welcome....Harry Potter." She said almost in a whisper.

The boy stared at her and his eyes widened.

"How do you know my name?" he asked as he tried to cover the scar with his hair noticing that Lilah was staring at his forehead.

"What do you mean? Everyone knows your name."

Harry began to walk backwards away from Lilah.

"Did I say something wrong?" she asked.

"No, I just remembered that, er, I have to, er, clean the house."

"The whole house?"

"Chores are chores. Cheers."

Harry ran in the direction of his house. Lilah watched him as he grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Fighting off this sudden urge to go after him. Some noise behind her caught her attention. She turned around and saw that the chubby boy and his gang were starting to come back up the street. She quickly made her way down the road.

After some other minor detours through previously untraveled roads, Lilah finally arrived at her house. She walked up the stairs and opened the tacky blue door. As she entered the smell of strong vanilla candles and beef stew filled the air.

"Mummy! I'm home!" she called as she threw off her Mary Jane's and dropped her bag in a beautiful trail behind her.

"I'm in the kitchen!" called a soft voice.

Lilah entered the small kitchen and found her mother busy stirring an extremely thickened stew.

"Where have you been love?" her mother asked.

Her mother was a gangly weak looking creature with graying straight golden brown hair and gray blue eyes that always looked bloodshot.

"I was walking about."

From outside in flew a stout brown farm owl that landed on Lilah's shoulder.

" Hullo, Boo." She said as she patted the owl. It nipped her lovingly on the finger. Then, her mother bent forwards suddenly and bellowed out a most inhuman sounding cough, scaring Boo from the room. Imogen backed away from the stew and sat down in one of the old wooden dining room chairs.

"Mummy did you take your medicine?" Lilah asked.

"Of course I did!" her mother snapped then collected herself and said gently, "But, it never does any good."

Lilah walked over to her mother and patted her back thinking of something to cheer her up. Then the idea came to her.

"Oh, mummy guess who I saw today?" Lilah gleefully asked while giving a little hop.

"Who, my dear?"

"Harry Potter himself!" Lilah said with a proud look on her face.

Lilah looked at her mum for congrats or some sense of awe but nothing of the sort happened. Instead her mother put her hand over her mouth as tears filled her eyes and tried to muffle sobs. Her mother quickly made it out of the room.

"Excuse me." She said mid-sob.

Lilah watched her mum leave and sighed nonchalantly, "Oh mummy."