Afterimage

This is a re-write of my story Afterimage, originally published in June of 2012. Some things have changed, some things not. Please enjoy.

Lily Luna Potter met the ghost in her second year. She had been hiding inside the boathouse to near the docks, simultaneously trying to study and keep watch for her eldest brother James, who had been tormenting her all day.

There, she sat huddled in the evening light, attempting the Impervius spell. She could have studied this in the library, but James always checked there for her first. The thought to go to the boathouse had been a spontaneous one, for she had never been there before. Besides the fact that a bit of water nearby would help in her attempts at the water repelling charm, going to the boathouse had the added benefit of James stumbling upon her less likely to happen.

She studied the correct pronunciation once more and lifted her wand into the air. Concentrating very hard, the spell was just tumbling from her lips when a sudden swishing noise and shadow in the corner of the room startled her. She nearly lost her wand between two slats of wood on the floor as she jumped at the unexpected sound. She managed to grasp it before it fell and disappeared into the murky waters; the book on her lap slipped precariously towards the edge of the dock as well and Lily just managed to get a hold on it before it too fell into the waters. She wouldn't like to hear what Pince would have to say to her if the book had actually disappeared.

The thought of Pince was fleeting as she grappled with her wand and book in an annoying battle, finally scrambling to her feet. Eyes darting into the slowly deepening darkness, she chided herself silently The voice in her head sounded strangely like her Aunt Hermione. Should have cast a Lumos before settling down!

All voices of her Aunt, chiding or not, slipped from her mind as her eyes alit on the figure in the corner. Lily felt her insides freeze and the fear settle deep into her stomach. Her first thought was something asinine-a vampire on Hogwarts grounds?! But how-!

And then she realized she was being stupid and without thinking, raised her wand and shouted "Lumos!"

Her wand exploded with bright blue light and lit up the person standing in front of her. The man took a step back, glaring at her from beneath his long black hair.

That was the first thing she noticed about him. His hair, in fact. It was long, stringy and greasy looking. Hard to miss that birds nest.

The second thing she noticed was that he wasn't really there - he was sort of transparent. A ghost.

And finally she noticed that he seemed to be bleeding from his neck. She tried to stare not to hard at the congealed mess at his throat. She had seen Nearly Headless Nick, but somehow where his injury was a great laugh amongst the students, this was enough to make her stomach do flips. She felt a bit ill looking at it.

"H-hullo," she said in a feeble voice, lowering her wand just a bit. He was a ghost after all; he couldn't do anything more than scare her.

The ghost just stood there, stiffly. His eyes were narrowed, sweeping down her scrawny form slowly. He looked angry, infuriated even. It occurred to her suddenly then that she had just cast a 3rd year spell, a spell she had already mastered in the first year but hadn't let anyone on Hogwarts grounds know. Lily didn't want to be known as Miss Know It All 2.0.

"What are you doing here?" he suddenly hissed, lowering his arm in a sharp movement. He stalked towards her. His expression was positively furious, and Lily raised her wand back up just a fraction. Ghost or no, it wouldn't do to be off guard.

"I-I was just studying!" she bit out, somewhat petulantly.

"I swear! I didn't know there was anyone else here...I'm sorry!" she cried out as he stopped in front of her. The sneer he had worn on his approach seemed to falter as he stared down his crooked nose at her. It seemed as if his face had gone even paler.

"You-! How are-" he stopped, narrowed his eyes. Lily just stared up at him helplessly, tears starting to come to her eyes. She was determined to not let a little ghost scare her-although this ghost was very tall and seemed to know exactly how to scare little Second Years.

"Who are you?" he finally ground out, himself taking step back away from her. He eyed her suspiciously, another emotion flitting across his face-something Lily never noticed in her slowly encompassing fear.

"My...my name is Lily...Lily Potter..." she replied, voice trembling.

"Lily?" His tone was choked and she wondered if maybe his wound had something to do with that.

She nodded slowly, biting her lip and sniffing loudly. Her eyes darted to the door of the boathouse, wondering if she should make a run for the castle. Would he follow?

"Lily," he repeated, his voice slightly hoarse. This whole situation was now making her feel very bizarre indeed.

"Nox," she said quietly. The ghost stayed where he was, eyes still narrowed somewhat suspiciously as she bent to adjust the book in her arms.

"Sir...may I...may I ask what your name is?" She half hoped he would tell her to bugger off. The idea of James tormenting her with his pranks and jokes suddenly seemed like a much better way to spend an evening.

The ghost continued to stand there silently before answering in a low voice. The name given caused a thread of shock to roil through her-her father had spoken of this man in nothing but tones of respect, had told them countless times of how he had helped him to save the Wizarding world.

"Severus," he growled lowly.

"Severus Snape."