Mastery Chapter Two

A/N: If you recognize it, it belongs to JKR and/or to Warner Brothers Entertainment. I make no money, nor any other sort of profit, from the writing of fan fiction. The only creations of my own are my own characters, whom readers will easily know as "mine" because they do not appear anywhere except for my fan fiction. I hope that others will respect my creations as much as they respect JKR's, Warner Bros., and other authors' creations, and not use my characters, potions, ideas, and creative works without my express permission in writing.

Many thanks to my new beta, Tra8erse, who makes my work better.

Discerning readers familiar with London will begin to recognize a few Muggle references, but there is absolutely no correlation between the personalities and/or actions of any living or historical person(s) and the characters in this tale, and anything seemingly so suggested is pure fiction out of my own mind.

Likewise, Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland is real and historical, I am fairly sure that there are no magical connections there. I merely wished to locate Severus's master in northern England or Scotland (near Hogwarts, Hogsmeade and Godric's Hollow).

Any businesses in Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley that you recognize are JKR's. Any you don't recognize are my own creations. If I have somehow infringed upon a real Wizarding place by accident, the wizard(s) and/or witch(s) who own said legally protected business(es) may send me a cease-and-desist request via owl and, upon proof of said, I shall gladly make my apologies and the appropriate changes to this tale via return Bald Eagle. (I'm American.)

*** Chapter 2 ***

"Apprentice! Where are you, Apprentice? What can you be doing, when I have need of you?"

That last was spoken in a rather peevish tone of voice.

"I am down in your lab, Master," Severus replied smoothly, "I am on my way upstairs now."

With those words, Severus hastened up the stairs, and hurried to his master's side, hoping not to seem rushed. He preferred his master to think that his apprentice arrived at his side in good time, but not that he rushed in a panic to get there, as that would be undignified. It wasn't easy to strike a balance between seeming to hang on his master's every word and actually doing so, between seeming eager to please his master, but not giving up his own dignity either. Severus needed his master's approval, but he refused to kowtow to anyone – not even to his master, an older and old-fashioned one, who was not known for treating his apprentices as kindly as many younger and more modern masters did. Of course, while Severus often chafed under his master's treatment at times like these, he knew that there was really nothing major that he could seriously complain about regarding his treatment in general. Many apprentices had it far worse.

"Master," Severus said quietly, to gain the older attention, as soon as he stood beside him.

Ignatius Otterbinde turned his head to stare at his apprentice. After a few long moments, he extended his arm, and in his hand he held a rather large, ornate crystal bottle with a very ostentatious stopper decorated with glittering stones and small, fluffy feathers. It looked like it belonged on a boudoir dressing table – or so Severus imagined, although he really had no knowledge of what might belong on a lady's dressing table, as he knew no woman who owned a dressing table well enough to have ever seen one.

"Merlin! Please don't ask me to deliver that… that thing… to some silly old woman! Oh, no – Worse, don't ask me to hand it to a younger woman who is equally silly. How humiliating might that be? Is there no end to the suffering I must accept at your hands, master? Dear g– ! "

"Apprentice, please deliver this to – "

Severus never heard the rest of what his master said. He was filled with disbelief that this, too, would be forced upon him. He realized then that he had not heard to whom he must deliver the – the thing.

"Master? To whom must I – "

"Deliver it to Mr Borgin – at Borgin & Burkes – you know, in Knockturn Alley. And while you're there, Apprentice, do stop at the Apothecary and see if you can get some unicorn horns for me. Put it on my account."

Severus still disliked being treated as an owl, but a trip to Knockturn Alley certainly was not an unhappy surprise. He took the ornate bottle from his master's hand and quickly turned to leave. His master's voice stopped him before he could actually make it to the door, however.

"Apprentice – while you're there, why don't you stop in your favorite book shop and see if there isn't something you could use. That, too, can be charged to me."

Severus froze, spun on his heel, and stared in surprise at his master. Master Otterbinde rarely did anything purely out of kindness. Severus watched his master's face closely, trying to figure out what this unexpected bonus might mean. Ignatius Otterbinde merely gazed back at his apprentice's face, his own expression carefully neutral, giving nothing away to the young man he was mentoring. The older man knew his reputation as rather frugal – to a fault, and as rather cold and uncaring, although the latter wasn't quite true. He did care about preparing his apprentice well for a life as a Potions master, and the old master knew that his apprentice would someday be a great master, and a credit to the field and to the Guild. But he also knew that this young man was full of plans that would not help him along that road. Otterbinde had hoped to help his apprentice rid himself of those dangerous notions before he became a master and might not so easily listen to his old mentor. He also knew that his apprentice would not miss an opportunity to acquire valuable books. Perhaps that was one way to soften up his prickly apprentice, one way to gain a bit of esteem from the young man who never seemed to think much of, or to truly respect, his master. Certainly, the youth showed him proper respect, privately, as well as in public – yet it seemed to Otterbinde that that's all it was, just a show.

Severus knew that he wasn't going to be able to read anything else in his master's face, and so, he gave his mentor a small, yet genuine, smile and turned, mumbling something about a book he'd seen weeks ago and hoped had not yet been bought, right before sweeping out the door of his master's home. As soon as he was outside the garden gate, Severus Snape Disapparated with a very small cracking sound.

Apparating with another tiny crack into the perpetual twilight of Knockturn Alley, Severus quickly marched into Borgin and Burkes. Once the door slipped shut, Mr Borgin came out of seeming thin air to greet his customer, while simultaneously running his fingers through his oily light brownish hair, pushing it back out of his face.

"Mr Snape," he said unctuously, "How can I be of assistance to you today?"

"Master Otterbinde has asked me to deliver this to you."

He laid delicate stress on the word "this", and – as he uttered it – he reached into his cloak to pull out the large, ornate crystal bottle. Extending his arm towards Mr Borgin, Severus watched the old stooped shopkeeper's face closely and noticed a look of clear recognition in that deeply lined face. Not only was Borgin expecting this, he also clearly knew what it was – unlike Severus himself. He handed the bottle to Borgin quickly. Mr Borgin took it and, just as quickly, it vanished out of sight. Had Borgin slipped it into a pocket inside his robes? Or up his sleeve? Or underneath the counter? No matter, it really wasn't Severus' concern. His job was finished.

"Is there anything else I can help you with? Perhaps this – "

The old shopkeeper walked over to a shriveled severed hand lying on an over-stuffed velvet pillow, as he spoke, and gestured towards it with a flourish.

" – Hand of Glory? It will open any locked door. No charm, hex or any other magical means of lock will hold against the Hand of Glory, you know."

Seeing the pained look on the younger man's face, Borgin hurried to continue, before his customer could scoff or say "no". He knew that this young man was rumored to know as much about the Dark Arts as… well, perhaps as You-Know-Who did. He also knew that, as a young apprentice, and having come from poverty, Snape didn't have much money – but he also knew that he always found money for books, so he obviously had enough to pay for the things that he really wanted… or at least some of them. The trick would be to gain Snape's interest, and then offer him store credit, against his master's account, just in case the young man truly was unable to pay.

"I'm sure you also know that if you insert an unlit candle into the Hand of Glory, young man, and you hold it, it will shed light that only you can see by, even in total darkness," Borgin said, in a rush, "Surely that will be useful to you some day?"

"I – Ah, I think not. I must be – " Severus said with a hint of a sneer.

As his customer moved towards the door, Borgin made one last attempt.

"There are plenty of other unique artifacts here," he said, "Surely some of them will be useful to you."

"I am sure there are," Severus replied, turning to face the shopkeeper, "but today is not the day for that."

Severus' tone was final, while still respectful, and Borgin knew he wasn't going to sell anything to the young potioneer today, but he also knew that he would surely make a sale to the brooding young man some other day. It was better to keep a young – and potentially important – customer content and willing to return without any feeling of discomfort. So Mr Borgin bowed to Snape, and bid him a good day, watching as the young man left his shop and walked straight ahead in the direction of Diagon Alley.

On his way down the narrow, winding street, Severus was inwardly amused. He knew full well that Mr Borgin considered him a prime future customer. He intended to wait until he needed something from the interesting shop, and then he'd test the old shopkeeper's interest in appeasing him, especially if what he wanted or needed at the time was expensive.

Taking the sharp turn to the left, and walking quickly through the exceptionally darkened curve, Severus reached the end of the road, and stepped into Diagon Alley.

He stood directly across from Gringotts and paused. To his left was Second-Hand Robes and one of the used book shops – the smaller one that often had more interesting books, if one was willing to search every dark nook and cranny of the tiny place – Foyled, Severus' favorite used book shop; to his immediate right was the other, larger second-hand book shop – The Lost Word – that stood next to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and further down were Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, and directly across the street, Potage's Cauldron Shop. Severus really wanted to go to the Foyled first, to see if that book he had been wanting for a while was still there.

He finally decided that if he went to the left first, and finished his business on that end of Diagon Alley, he could then make his way towards the other end, do his business there, and then stop for a drink at The Leaky Cauldron, as the pub was to the right, all the way at the far end of the road. He could Apparate back to Banff, to Master Otterbinde's home, after that.

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