☞ 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲, 1𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 1996

My first five years at Hogwarts were... strange. Despite being from a rich, Slytherin family, which is a part of the Sacred 28, my peers in said house never respected me. They bullied me relentlessly, the worst of the snakes being Pansy Parkinson and the most obnoxious boys one will ever meet: Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Draco Malfoy, and Mattheo Riddle. Parkinson is your typical self-obsessed girl whose only personality trait is being loved by everyone. I've heard countless times from said boys that none of them like Parkinson and have long given up trying to get rid of her.

Due to almost no one in my house not being able to look at me without scoffing and turning up their nose, I've become quite close with many people from other houses. Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw from the year below me whom I've only recently met; The Weasleys, most of whom I met during my first year at Hogwarts, whilst I only met Ginny during the summer before my second year; Harry Potter and, of course, Hermione Granger; I met them through Ron, and they've been my closest friends since; I had a few acquaintances from Hufflepuff like Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones; and the only person in the entire house of Slytherin that can remotely stand me is Astoria Greengrass, my best friend since birth.

To summarise why the Slytherins avoid me like the plague: no one likes my father, and Parkinson is idolised by everyone in the serpent house. Everyone hates who she hates, and she just might hate me the most. Since first year, she labelled me as 'unattractive', 'untalented', and the classic 'blood traitor'. Not that any of those matter. Once the 'perfect' Pansy Parkinson started saying these things, and one by one everyone else started to join in like the brainless oafs they are. Are they that idiotic and ignorant that they cannot seem to string together a thought of their own?

For the first few years of my life, I lived at Hogwarts, where my father taught. Many students and teachers would help take care of me, and they adored me for being the adorable baby that I was. The bias many teachers have towards me is another reason why I fell victim to the hatred of the Slytherins. Once I turned nine years old, I was allowed to stay at home while my father would come home on weekends to take care of me. During the weekdays, all the teachers would spend their free time coming to visit me and make sure I was still breathing. Even Professor Trelawney would come around and take care of me, and we all know how she acts when she has to leave her room...

Due to the help my father received from his coworkers to help raise me, they taught me many things, meaning I'm ahead of my studies. Hermione and I were always at the top of the class, and you could never tear us away from the library.

Despite the tough times I went through, there have been many glorious moments over the past few years. Hermione, Harry, Ron, and I managed to track down and prevent Voldemort's return in first year with the philosopher's stone. In our second year, Ron, Harry, and I ventured into the Chamber of Secrets, where, with help from Hermione, Harry and I slayed the basilisk and stabbed a book to death!

Third year we hunted down a murderer who turned out to not be the murderer, and Ron's pathetic rat turned out to be a man all along. Also, Harry attacked my Dad, Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf and almost attacked us if it weren't for Sirius Black jumping in, and my father shielding us. We travelled back in time and saved many people's lives including our own from a horde of dementors.

Fourth year, Harry was entered into the Triwizard Tournament against his will where he almost died many times, and Voldemort came back as a snake-like man. Fifth year, Umbridge took over the school with the power of the Ministry behind her and tortured us with cursed quills and her unforgiving wall of rules! Arther Weasley almost died from an attack by Voldemort and his pet snake, Nagini. The Weasley Twins left school after setting off fireworks which engulfed Umbridge. Speaking of, we led her into the woods where she was taken care of by Centaurs. We broke into the ministry in an attempt to save Sirius Black, who we thought was being attacked. It was a trap. Accidentally, we destroyed every prophecy ever made. During the battle, we lost Sirius. Lastly, the minister saw you-know-who and finally got it through his thick brain that Voldemort had returned.

Currently, I was in my bedroom in Snape Manor, packing for my sixth year at Hogwarts. I had already gotten the books I needed for school. Professor Sprout had kindly gotten them for me when she went out to Diagon Alley two weeks ago. I placed my new Slytherin robes into my trunk, seeing as I grew a lot over the summer and my old ones no longer fit.

Father and I then spent the rest of the evening playing many board games, as we do annually on the last night before school. After our traditional dessert of choice and getting destroyed in chess by my father, we called it a night. Soon after I changed into my nightwear, and fell right asleep, tired from our night's activity.

The birds sang, welcoming back the autumn sun. I awoke to the sound of their playful tunes before tumbling out of bed onto the freezing wooden floor. I attempted to quickly get free from the duvet that fell with me, but my legs became entangled with the duvet, so I fell flat on the floor once again.

Not a moment goes by when I hear my door fly open. "What happened?" My dad said in a panic, yet somehow still sounding as monotone as ever. "Are you alright?" my dad laughed as he noticed me on the floor, my duvet sprawled around me and my hair as tangled as a nest.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about me. I just fell out of bed, getting a face full of cold wood at 5 o'clock in the morning." I huffed out while my father stood in my doorway, dying from laughter. My arms pushed against the hardwood floor, lifting myself up, but as soon as I put my foot down, I lost my grip and slipped because of my green silk sheets that still cocooned my body. My father only wheezed in response, making me think he'd drop dead due to a lack of oxygen.

He then collects himself and helps me up. "Thanks." I huffed out, upset at how my dad stood there for a solid 5 minutes, laughing his ass off, before even considering coming and helping me!

"Get dressed and then come down for breakfast." He spoke and then began to walk out of my room. As he did that, I began to lie back down on my bed, "I made pancakes." Faster than you could say Quidditch, I leapt back out of bed and headed to my bathroom. My father chuckled to himself before leaving me to change.

I showered and got ready for the day, dressed in black leather trousers with a very dark green crop top and long sleeves that hugged my figure tightly. Lastly, I lace up my green Converse. Puberty treated me kindly over the summer. No longer was I being ignored by people my age; in fact, they... stared at me, never failing to give me the creeps when they would stare for far too long. I felt more confident in myself, the shy and timid girl people once knew has matured, and I refuse to take any disrespect from anyone.

I walked downstairs towards the dining room, where, in the centre of the long table, were pancakes with my favourite toppings. Dad sat opposite me, we talked for a while before he had to leave for Hogwarts.

"Goodbye, hunny. I love you." He pulled me into a tight hug. Instantly, I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tight too. Father gently kissed my forehead and pulled away.

"Love you too, Dad. I'll see you at Hogwarts." He grabbed his luggage and disapparited away in a blink of an eye.

The trolly carrying my luggage rattled as I ran through the wall at Kings Cross Station. As I emerged from the other side, my eyes locked on a familiar redhead family. Quickly, I made my way towards them while passing a blur of green and black.

"George, Fred!" I called out, causing the two ginger giants to turn to me. Instead of a friendly smile, their faces showed confusion, and their cheeks reddened.

"Sorry-" "-Do we know you?" The two boys asked, their voices more timid than I was used to, catching me off guard. Their eyes trailed up and down my body, their eyes glistening with awe. I chuckled at their reactions.

"It's me, you idiots! Y/n Snape." Their jaws dropped in shock, and their eyes bulged out of their sockets.

"No..." they both simultaneously breathed out, the shock they were feeling not subsiding. "But-" Fred began, while George said, "What-", They lost all words for a moment. They turned to look at each other before turning back to me. They finally closed their mouths and recomposed themselves... kind of... "When?"

I laughed at the two, saying, "What?" Oh, come on, we'll miss the train." With that, I pushed my trolly past the two dumbfounded boys, leaving them behind. I quickly waved to Mrs. Weasley, who luckily recognised me and hugged me goodbye. It seemed like Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny had already boarded the train.

After I placed my belongings with the rest of the school's belongings, I stepped foot on the train and found an empty compartment. I pulled out a muggle book my father gifted me for my birthday that I never got around to reading, The Hunger Games, and stretched my legs across the worn seats.

The first two hours of the train ride I spent alone, my mind filled with pictures and illustrations of the words that I read to myself. Tranquillity filled the room with nothing but the quiet chugging of the steam train. The warm sun heated my skin, and small particles of dust danced in the sun beams. Suddenly, Astoria entered the compartment. "Hello there, I'm Astoria. Are you new here?" she asked politely.

I scoffed at the girl with a smile. "Did I really change that much over the summer?" I giggled silently. Astoria's face was priceless; if possible, she looked more shocked than the twins.

"Y/n?" She squealed, then wrapped me in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, my Merlin! This summer has blessed to you. You look even more amazing than ever before!" Her compliments made me blush. I've never been the one to handle compliments very well, especially from someone as elegant as Astoria.

Astoria has always been an amazing friend, no matter the backlash she received for keeping me as company. She would always say I'm pretty, talented, and extremely brave, although I've never believed her. Astoria was one of the prettiest people in Slytherin. Unlike Parkinson, she's never been one of those people who prioritises popularity and dating over education. Not that she hasn't been on a date before, but Astoria has always known her worth and has never prioritised a boy over her friends or school. I admire her for that.

Astoria and I spent the rest of the train ride talking and catching up about our summers. Not to mention, we may or may not have gone overboard on the sweets and fell asleep covered in used wrappers and empty boxes.