ANNE BELLE LANCE

Concocting Potions

Anne's POV

I was woken up from my slumber after two hours of precious sleep by lil. I groaned.
"Ten more minutes,please,please,please,"I begged.
"No, no more sleep,you slept like a log without turning and I thought you had died,wake up," Lil said.
"What's the fuss,kiddo,you ok?"I said mimicking james. Lil blushed.
"We're gonna be late,"She said but in a much gentler tone.
"Late for what? The end of the earth,no thanks I don't wanna witness it,"I grumbled. "It's a Saturday there aren't any classes.
"Yeah but did you forget the deal we made with sev,if you hadn't been up all night with those boys you wouldn't be sleeping right now. "She said with disapproval.
Oh my gosh I'd totally forgotten I mentally smacked myself. I dressed deciding to take a bath later and we went to meet Severus in the dungeons that led to his common room.
We saw him and greeted him then got down to business. Sev was the best in class at dark arts and potions so I had asked a favour of him. I had decided to pair up with sev who was best at potions and lil who was second best to create wolf's bane potion. It was complex but I was sure we would invent the cure.
"So what do you want,"sev asked looking from lil to me and then back again.
"Well I'd like you to invent a potion for a friend of mine who is a wolf I want you to put him out of his misery,"I said carefully. I had been reciting my speech while I changed so that I would not let out that Remus was a werewolf.
"And why do you think I'd help that imbecile potter's friend,"he countered calmly staring at me.
"How in Merlin's saggy beard did you find out!"I exclaimed.
Lil told me that they had played a prank on sev and almost killed him and how they bullied him.
"Oh,ok sorry,I'm really sorry I didn't mean to,oh never mind,"I muttered awkwardly.
"Ok so now let's discuss this,"sev continued running a hair through his black hair as if we hadn't ever strayed from the topic. "You will tell the head master that the potter boy is an animagus and in return I'll create a potion".
"Deal,"I promised and we decided to make the potion in Sev's room. Sev had been allowed to have a personal room as he stayed at school over the summers. He had a problem at home and I didn't know about it only lil did.
The next day I collected loads of ingredients from the potions cupboard and we dumped them all on Sev's bed. Then we set about making the potion. We tried many ingredients. First came out a total disaster. The potion created a boggart and it immediately turned onto the thing I feared most. It turned into my family with them being tortured by voldemort imthebestinthewholewideworldcrazylunatic and it also showed me standing on the side and laughing at seeing everyone I loved being in pain.
This is what I feared most,losing my family nd turning over to the dark side. I banished the boggart but sev and lil kept staring at me.
"Oh my gosh that was so darn scary ,"Lil cried out.
Sev was just staring at me but with something new. It was respect,he had finally come to respect someone other than lil but that was different as he had a crush on lil. I just shrugged my shoulders and it seemed to shake them from their stupor so we got to work. Lil had a big book open and was naming ingredients that might cause a success,sev was mixing different stuff in three different cauldrons and I,well I was just tending the fire and crushing mandrakes,chopping slugs and powdering the callymalt root. These were all ingredients. As we three students worked we talked and surprisingly me and sev became friends. The talk strayed to family. Lil had a lovely kind mom and a father and even a sister.
As lil described how her mom loved her and how her dad liked her I started to feel sad. I'd never known my parents at all. I just knew that one day I was left at the orphanage by a couple. They gave a note,kissed me and went away they were both crying. They felt sad at losing their baby. They felt sad at losing me and I had long ago supposed that they had been killed in the Wizarding war.

Snape's POV

I was reluctant to talk so much about my family and it was sad that my parents were as good as dead but I wasn't the only one. I soon noticed that Anne seemed so upset and down that it broke me. Tears were flowing from her eyes onto her cheeks and flowing openly. However she was oblivious to them as if she was far away. I used occlumency and delved into her mind to see her thoughts.
"Lily stop,"I told lil and gestured to Anne.
"Hey,Anne why are you crying?"I asked gently.
"What im crying no I'm not I don't,oh ,"She said breaking off in the middle when she felt her wet cheeks.
"I never knew, that's so upsetting I'm sorry,"Lil exclaimed. "But what are you crying about?".
I once again delved into a mind but Lily's this time and told her everything. I saw as her eyes widened in realization.
"Okay now come on,let's go back to the dorm ,"She said and dragged her from the dungeons".

Anne's POV

"Ok so what's going on,TELL ME NOW ,"ordered lil rather like an over protective mum. I didn't tell her, I didn't want her to pity me. I wanted to forget about it and never go back. So I told lil,I couldn't keep it any more so I spilled all my feelings. I told her the truth about my family,the orphanage and somehow it made me feel better. I felt good at finally having someone share my feelings.
"Can I tell Dumbledore ?"She asked me."Can I tell James,Sirius ,Peter and Remus,"She asked.
"No not Dumbledore , respect him and I do not want him to think of me as a little prissy girl. Besides I can survive the orphanage it's just horrible. Actually being me is horrible,"
I told her all in one breath.
"No it's not ,now let me help you,"She told me and I went to get changed and showered. When I came back lil was not there so and I lay down on the bed glad to be alone for once. I pondered everything and was angry at myself for being such a weakling.
I had allowed lil to tell the marauders but not Dumbledore. I realised that I was just being stupid and went down to lunch realising too that I was starved and it was lunch.
"Good thing you are here lil told us about you and if you hadn't come I would have gone to your dormitory and dragged you down here,"James said.
"I'm fine just starved,"I replied helping myself to my favourite treacle tart, "Where is lil anyways,"I asked.
"I'm dunno helping snivellus, maybe ,"he said with spite in his voice.
Besides you couldn't come to my dorm the stairs have got a charm on them , if boys try to climb up they will turn into a slide.
I finished my lunch and was reading in the common room bored. Actually I was thinking. I was wondering if lil had told them by then and decided to go check.