I'm not who you think I am

Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first fanfic. It is not beta'd, so please forgive any mistakes. Constructive criticism is most welcome, but please no flamers, they'll be ignored. As per everyone else, everything Harry Potter related belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. I make no money, I do it because I'm impatiently waiting for more Potter stuff from the author. Enjoy.

Celeste Vincent had been feeling crappy all day. She'd barely made it through work, only staying because she had no sick pay to take a few hours off with.

Getting home, she flopped down onto her couch, thinking that lying down would help. It didn't. She became dizzy, then nauseous. When she was positive she was going to throw up, an unusual buzzing feeling started in her nerves. It escalated quickly, and before she knew it, she'd passed out.

Hours later, she was rudely awakened by someone shaking her.

"C'mon. Wake up! "said a young, impatient and irritated female voice.

Celeste cracked an eye open, feeling very disoriented. The darkened room was only just illuminated by candle-light, and she had the strange impression it was bigger than it had been.

A girls face invaded her field of vision, startling her fully awake.

"Who are you?" she said in a high-pitched voice, and panicked when her own voice sounded different.

Oh, ha ha, Lily. Now get your arse downstairs. That weirdo friend of yours is threatening to sleep outside the common room", she said, grabbing Celeste and hauling her to her feet.

'Lily? I don't know any Lily', thought Celeste, confused, allowing the unknown girl to drag her down an unfamiliar set of stone steps.

The girl was muttering about "don't know what you see in him", and "greasy slime ball". Celeste had no idea what she was on about. She'd like to pretend that she was dreaming, except the details around her were too precise, as was the cold stone beneath her bare feet.

The girl dragged her through a cosy looking room with lots of cushy chairs. It seemed to be predominantly decorated in red and gold. A large door was thrown open, and the girl shoved Celeste through it before slamming it behind her.

'Rude bitch!' thought Celeste, trying to adjust to the gloom she now found herself in. To her surprise, a young boy, maybe between 14 to 16 years of age, scrambled to his feet when he saw her.

"Lily, I'm so sorry! "he said, looking incredibly nervous. Celeste looked behind her, just to make sure he was addressing her, and no-one else. Twice now she'd been referred to as this 'Lily'.

She looked back at the boy, who had moved closer to her. Poor thing certainly wasn't a looker. His hair was lank, as was his entire body. His hooked nose looked too big on his thin face, and his eyes…they were, were….black.

Oh, shit!" Celeste muttered, wanting to deny what her senses were telling her.

"Look, it was a mistake. I never meant to call you…that", he went on earnestly.

Oh my god. I'm gonna freak. Or spew. Or scream', thought Celeste incoherently, quickly grabbing a lock of hair that hung over her shoulder. Ignoring the boy, she peered at her now auburn coloured hair.

Dropping it suddenly, she looked back at the boy, who was looking at her apprehensively, but with a mounting concern.

"Lily? Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

"Se – Severus? "she asked, disbelievingly.

He frowned at her question.

"Lily, what's wrong? "he asked, panic filling his voice as Celeste let out a "ha" that was cracked, and close to breaking. She saw him move towards her as her body crumpled, her brain shutting everything down before it's systems fried.