The Keeper

Chapter 1

Dusk. The fading light dragged along the earth and shadows stretched their drowsy arms as the sun slowly sank behind the skyline and dark emerged. Soles from a pair of shoes clacked against the hard ground and the small bags rustled in his hand. Severus Snape, scowling with his hair tied back, made his way quickly home. His footsteps echoed in the deserted street. The sound of glass shattering. He stopped and looked over to the house beside him. He could hear the shouting and the noise of a struggle. The cramped, run-down house by the forest with peeling paint and the air of neglect. It often broke the quiet around him on his journeys. Inside they continued, but Snape just turned his face away and continued his walk home. The sounds of their pain faded behind him, softening with each sharp sound his steps sent out into the impending darkness.

The first of September. A day met by most young wizards with excitement and faltering spirits. The red steam engine sat grand at it's platform while wizards and witches bustled about. Among them, a small first year pulled her trunk over to the luggage drop off. Her long brown hair hung across her face slightly hiding her eyes; one black, the other a pale blue with a scar stretching down it. No one had noticed her enter the platform alone, and nor did they seem to notice as she boarded the train. She tucked her hair behind her ear revealing her good eye as she searched for a compartment to sit in. All of the compartments were already full, except for one near the back where a scrawny boy with dark hair sat by himself. Softly, she tapped on the door before sliding it open. The boy quickly turned, his green eyes looking up to her. "Mind if I sit with you?" she asked politely. The young boy gave a small nervous smile and replied "Go ahead." "Thanks."she returned a warm smile of her own as she sat down. The boy went back to staring out the window and she did the same. Just then, the compartment door slid open again and a tall red headed boy with freckles stood in the doorway. "Anyone sitting there?" he asked pointing to the seat next to her and across from the other boy, "Everywhere else is full." They both shook their heads and the boy quickly sat down. "I'm Ron Weasley." the boy introduced himself, giving them a friendly smile. "Yulisa Carmona" she said warmly. "Harry Potter." the boy across from them replied. "Blimey! You're the Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out with wide eyes. Harry just nodded nervously, his cheeks seemed to flush every so slightly. "Do you really have... you know... the scar?" Ron asked, not as loudly this time. Harry just pushed his messy bangs out the way and revealed a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. "Wow." Ron responded, his eyes still wide. Yulisa looked at Harry's scar too, a little taken back, though she tried to act normal. Harry didn't seem to mind Ron's reaction, though she could tell he wasn't accustomed to be treated this way. "You have a pretty cool scar too." Harry said looking over to Yulisa's eye. Ron leaned forward to see what he was talking about. Yulisa smiled and pulled the hair out of her face revealing her left eye. "Nice." Ron said looking at it with excitement. "How'd you get that beauty?" "There was an incident when I was five." she said not going further on the topic. "Can you see out that eye?" Harry asked, seeming intrigued by the way it left her eye pale blue. "A little, but it's a lot worse than my right eye." Yulisa explained. "Wicked." Ron commented smiling as he admired how it contrasted against her tan skin.

"Are all of your family wizards?" Harry asked to both of them, he appeared very curious about them as well. "I'm pretty sure." answered Ron, looking down in thought. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him much." Harry's smile widen, he must of found it funny. "Just half of my family." Yulisa joined in. "My dad's muggleborn, so just my parents and relatives on my mom's side can do magic." Harry looked a little confused. "What's a muggleborn?" he asked. "It's a witch or wizard born to muggle parents, most of them don't have any wizarding blood at all." she explained. "I guess that's what my mom was." said Harry looking away in thought. "It's not a bad thing, Harry. They're just as competent as any pure blood." She added with a warm smile. Ron nodded in agreement. "What does that make me?" Harry asked sounding concerned. Yulisa laughed slightly, "You're a half-breed, like me." Harry just smiled back at her. "I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"

The three continued on in their conversation, mostly explaining different facts about the wizarding world to Harry. Ron came from a large, pure blood family and had six sibling. His parents and his five older brothers had been in Gryffindor, and he was hoping to be placed there also. Yulisa was an only child, and her mother was in Ravenclaw. Though as she explained to Harry, the house of your parents isn't always the one you're put in. She seemed to be leaning toward Gryffindor as well. After the cart lady came by, they sat swapping Famous Witches and Wizards Cards and catching loose chocolate frogs. Ron was just about to show them a spell his brother George gave him, when the compartment door slid open again. A young girl with bushy brown hair and a slightly pointed nose looked in at the three. "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost his." she explained in a matter-of-fact kind of way. "Sorry, we haven't seen one." Yulisa responded, sounding sorry for the boy. "Oh, are you doing magic?" she asked noticing Ron's wand out, "Let's see it, then." She shut the door and sat down. Ron cleared his throat before continuing.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,

Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

Nothing happened. The girl who had come in to watch didn't look impressed. "Are you sure that's a real spell?" she asked. Ron seemed equally disappointed. "Here, like this." she said taking out her wand. Suddenly she pointed it right at Harry's face, his eyes widened in fear. Yulisa quickly reached under her sweater grabbing the tail of her wand, ready to defend him, but the girl just calmly stated "Repairo." and fixed his glasses. Yulisa relaxed back down into her seat relieved, hoping they hadn't noticed anything. Harry let out a sigh of relief as well. "You're Harry Potter!" the girl exclaimed in surprise as she noticed the scar on his forehead. "I'm Hermione Granger." she said introducing herself. Harry smiled at her in return. "Yulisa Carmona." Yulisa said politely when Hermione looked over to her. "And you are?" she asked finally looked over to freckled mess across from her. "Ron Weasley." he said proudly. "Nice to meet you." Yulisa started, "and nice spell. Have you been at Hogwarts long?" she asked, though Hermione looked the same age as them. "This is my first year, actually. I've already read all our course books, though. Nobody in my family's magic at all, so I hope it will be enough." She explained sounding quite proud. "I'm sure you'll do just fine." Yulisa said reassuringly. "My mother taught me a few things when I was younger, so I know some stuff; but I haven't finished reading all our books yet." Yulisa was only about half way through with most of them. Ron and Harry apparently hadn't started reading at all. "Why did your mom stop teaching you?" Hermione asked confused. "She died." Yulisa said simply. "Oh, I'm sorry." Hermione quickly replied. "You still have your dad, right?" she asked. "Yeah." Yulisa answered looking out of the window beside her, she didn't seem comforted by that at all. "Well, what subject are you looking forward to most?" Hermione asked, changing the subject. "I can't wait for Transfiguration." Hermione said smiling.

Soon they had arrived at Hogwarts, and the first years were sent off with a huge, bushy looking man. Harry informed them that he was named Hagrid and worked as the gamekeeper. According to Harry, despite his brutish appearance, he was quite kind. Hagrid lead them across the lake and toward the lit castle against the clear dark night. Once inside they were brought to the Great Hall, where they were to be sorted. Yulisa was one of the first to be called since they were going in alphabetical order. When she stepped forward and took her seat on the stool, Professor McGonagall placed the tattered looking hat on her head. It sank over her small skull, covering her eyes and ears. The hat debating for a few seconds whether to put her in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, but it quickly made it's decision. "GRYFFINDOR!" it bellowed throughout the hall. Smiling she got up from the stool and hurried over to the table of applauding students. They greeted her warmly, and she sat ecstatic to be with her new family.

{This story is a request from SprinklesLover4Ever, and she created the character Yulisa Carmona and has a rather large role in the development of this story, so please be sure to credit her as well. Of course J.K Rowling owns all Harry Potter characters and book quotes. Finally, the romance between Yulisa and Professor Snape won't occur until she's older. However, I'll be recapping some of her previous years (kinda quickly), to show the nature of her personality and the development of their relationship. Please be patient. As always I hope you enjoy the story and all feedback is welcome.}