Medicine (Severus Snape/O.C)

{Chapter One: Introduction}

They stood in front of a newer two story house, grey bricks standing out against the environment. The older woman entered the home first, looking back at her daughter who continued to stare. Both of them locked eyes and she finally followed her mother into the house. It was spacious, but not too much. Every room was a decent size, not too big yet not too small. She explored the bottom floor of the house which consisted of a kitchen, dining room, living room, and bedroom with a master bathroom. Limping over to the stairs, she slowly walked up them and continued her exploration. There were two more bedrooms and one bathroom. Deciding to choose the one closest to the stairway, she set down her belongings onto the carpeted floor and gazed around the empty room.

She sighed, already homesick as she looked out her window at her new neighborhood. Her and her mother had moved to England from America after her father died just months ago. He had been out on a business trip and was supposed to be back in a week, but when a few weeks passed with nothing from him they assumed the worst. It was later confirmed by the police that he was, in fact, dead. They didn't know how he died, nor did they find a body. Only a small puddle of blood. "Lorelai?" Her mother called from downstairs.

"Yeah?" She shouted back and exited her bedroom to see her standing at the bottom of the stairway.

"Can you grab Shiva's things and set them in the kitchen? I'm sure she's hungry." Lorelai nodded and headed to the car. After doing what she was asked she grabbed the husky's leash and led her into the house, shutting the door before unhooking the leash. She watched as Shiva immediately started sniffing around and gave her dog a warm smile.

With it being so early in the morning, they had enough time to unpack the necessities for the house from the moving truck along with some boxes. Neighbors had also decided to help which they were very grateful for. At six, they decided to get dinner and sat at the dining table to eat. It was a few minutes before either of them decided to speak. "Hey, Mom?" Her mother stopped chewing and looked up from her plate at Lorelai with her eyebrows raised expectantly. She grew anxious as she watched her daughter's stoic, yet hesitant, expression. "Why did we really move?" Lorelai watched as she slowly finished her bite before suddenly standing up and leaving the room. She heard some shuffling and then her mother returned with an envelope in her hand, handing it to Lorelai. She slowly opened it, taking out a faded piece of paper with neat handwriting. As her eyes skimmed over the words her mouth opened a little and she looked up at her mother with an unknown expression. "You had this for five years?" Lorelai asked quietly. Her mother just nodded.

Lorelai let out a short laugh, almost a scoff, and stood up from her seat, leaving the envelope on the table before walking out the front door. She headed towards the city of London which wasn't far from where they lived. Her ankle was throbbing, aching from how much weight she put on it earlier that day, but she ignored the pain and continued walking. "Where exactly do you think you're going?"

"I don't know." Lorelai stated grumpily as she reached the edge of London city.

"Oh, come, now. You're not angry at me, are you?" She looked at herself walking beside her, annoyed at her feigned innocence. She watched her other self roll her eyes. "It's been years since the incident, you can't possibly still be mad at me."

"Well, I'm sorry that you're the reason I'm in pain practically every day, especially today." She turned a corner and suddenly crashed into something - or someone. She quickly regained her composure after stumbling back a few steps in shock. "My apologies." She quickly muttered. Lorelai finally looked at who she bumped in to and saw a pale man whose black eyes bore into her own light blue ones. He had somewhat long, greasy black hair and wore all black, his clothes seemingly more old-fashioned.

"You best watch where you're going." He indirectly warned her in a low voice. They stared at each other for a few more seconds before Lorelai continued walking, not breaking eye contact until she passed him. The man watched as she did so, his eyes traveling down to her right ankle, its foot pointed outwards as she limped. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before snatching his eyes away and continuing his own walk.

"Don't tell me you're going to blame me for that, too?" Her other self asked.

"Why are you so persistent today, huh?" Lorelai questioned herself, others giving her odd glances as they walked by. She continued her conversations with herself as she walked, looking at all of the different shops and restraunts, eventually making her way back home. By the time she arrived at the house the sun had set, a few stars peaking out from the night sky. Closing the front door, Shiva ran to her with her tail wagging. Lorelai pet her and gave her a hug before making her way upstairs to her new bedroom, holding on to the railing for support. After entering her bedroom she looked at her neatly made bed to see the envelope and glared at it. Shiva had followed her and jumped onto her bed to lay down.

"I already sent a letter to the headmaster of the wizarding school here." Lorelai heard her mother say from the doorway. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself. "He sent me a list of supplies you'll need and where to get them. He also said that you leave for school this Sunday, so you'd best shop tomorrow." Lorelai heard a sigh and her door was softly shut followed by her mother's footsteps down the stairs.

After getting ready for bed she got under her grey blanket while trying to avoid bothering Shiva who was now asleep. She stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before curling into a ball on her side. "Goodnight."