The rest of the summer went by quickly for Severus, he couldn't get the girl from the wand shop out of his head. When he first arrived and had dinner with Lucius and his father, his mother had passed away two years ago, and he was his usual quiet self but his mind was miles away. He always looked forward to the delicious meals that the Malfoy elves prepared for them. He was lucky to eat at all in his own home so having regular meals during the summer was extremely rare for him. While he ate the roasted duck all he could think about was eating the wrapped sandwich that he left back in his room.
"Father, does Mr. Ollivander have a daughter?" Lucius asked suddenly. Severus snapped out of his trance and his head shot up to look at the older Malfoy.
"Ollivander? Oh Merlin! Of course not. The old codger better have an heir soon though, he's the last of his bloodline. It would be a shame if one of the Sacred 28 went extinct because he flew for the other team." Abraxas laughed and sipped his whiskey.
Lucius smirked at Severus as if telling him I told you so. Severus scowled at him and stabbed at his potatoes. "What about employees? Does he have any help in that shop he owns?"
"Thinking of becoming a wand maker?" Abraxas asked with a slight hint of disgust.
"Oh no, I'm merely thinking of possible business ventures. If he has no heirs and he is the only wandmaker of Britain, then what will happen? Will we have to go to Germany for our wands?" he replied smoothly.
"Ah, always looking at the bigger picture. You'll make a fine businessman one day. As far as I know the old man runs it by himself. I know he was married but his wife passed away quite some time ago."
Lucius looked at Severus and tilted his head and the corner of his mouth turned up. Severus huffed and shoved another forkful of food into his mouth.
Summer passed by quickly and Severus and Lucius met the rest of their Slytherin friends on the train back to school. In public they were prime examples of proper pureblood standards. Locked in a train cabin they were typical teenage boys with cursing, yelling and wrestling. Lucius thought it would be hilarious to tell them of Severus' "imaginary girlfriend."
"You didn't shag her?" Nott asked.
"What- No! Why would I?" Severus asked suddenly.
"Why not?" Yaxley asked and clicked his tongue while making a rude gesture with his wand.
"She was asking for it, duh!" Avery shouted.
Rowle leaned forward in his seat and put his elbows on his knees, "She healed you, fed you and clothed you- no brainer. She wanted you to bang her." He ticked off his fingers as he spoke.
"You're assuming she's real. I've never seen anyone in that shop except Ollivander. My father said the old man has no children or hired help." Lucius said and shoved his shoulder into Severus who was sitting next to him.
"I'm not lying. She-"
"What about Evans?" Yaxley asked.
"Who?" Severus asked then caught himself and rolled his eyes.
Mulciber gave a low whistle and said "Must be some girl, if she makes you forget about the Mudblood." Before Severus could argue his friends busted out in a loud roar of laughter.
"You said she was about our age, Yeh? So she should be a student! We just gotta look for her and then we'll know she's real." Regs suggested.
"Yesssss!" Lucius agreed eagerly as he pointed to Regs who stood up suddenly
"Wait-no! Where are you going?" Severus asked and stood up to follow him.
"To find your mystery girl." He said and slid the door open with a loud bang. He threw it open so hard it almost bounced back and hit him. He stepped into the corridor and cupped his hands to his mouth, "WAND GIRL! WHERE ARE YOU, OH WAND GIRL?!"
The group of seventh year Hufflepuff girls that were passing jumped aside and quickly moved away. Regs bowed in greeting suddenly, seeing some of them being purebloods and making sure to uphold his proper manners. "Ladies."
Severus grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the cabin roughly. "What the hell are you doing?" he hissed.
One of the Gryffindor prefect boys came over and stood in the doorway of their cabin. "Trains coming to a stop soon. Make sure you're dressed and seated."
"Yes sir!" some of them gave a mock salute and went to their trunks.
"You know there is a max occupancy, right?" he said and crossed his arms.
"Yeah one dickhead per train, thanks for filling the quota." Mulciber said sarcastically and slammed the cabin door shut in his face. "Uppity fucker." He mumbled under his breath as he sat back down.
They dressed as the train pulled into Hogsmeade. What his friends said made sense, if she was their age then she should be here. He felt his heartbeat race at the thought of meeting her again. Maybe she was on the train this whole time! He tried not to seem eager when getting off the train but his friends saw right through that.
Severus walked through the crowd with his head held high, looking around for any sign of the girl from the wand shop. They decided to help him find her by pointing all the girls that were "dark haired and yay high."
"That one?" Avery asked as he nodded to the girl on their left.
"No." he shook his head.
"That one?" Nott asked and pointed at another.
"No." he said again.
"The one over by the lamp post?" Mulciber asked.
"Which one?" Severus asked as he craned his neck.
"Either." Lucius replied impatiently.
"No."
They groaned and rolled their eyes. They were getting bored very quickly. "Come on, lets just get a carriage." Yaxley said and nudged Avery's elbow.
"Yeah, she prolly doesn't exist anyway." Regs snorted and the rest of them laughed
They all followed Yaxley to the front of the line. A few students complained about them cutting ahead but no one did anything. Severus kept his eyes peeled for her, ignoring the fact that he walked right past Lily. She was so used to Severus staring at her or trying to apologize that she already prepared to tell him to leave her alone. But her mouth just stayed hanging open as he didn't even look at her once, he kept looking around everywhere else as if expecting someone.
"Wow, what a jerk. He didn't even say hello." Her friend Alice said as she curled her lip in disgust at him in passing.
"Whatever, he probably finally got it in his head that I'm not talking to him anymore." She said and flicked her hair over her shoulder.
When they finally got to sit down at the Slytherin table Severus had given up hope. She wasn't here, at least from what he could tell. He didn't see his raven haired girl anywhere and it instantly put him in a foul mood. They all settled down and got quiet when their Headmaster stood at the podium to make his annual speech.
"Hello again! I hope you all had a very pleasant summer and are all ready to come back to school and hit the books." he greeted and laughed.
If there were crickets, they would have been heard. "Few announcements…" he continued on about the forbidden forest and other rules set by Mr. Filch. Mulciber yawned dramatically and they snickered.
"We also have a new addition to our student body! Miss Juliet Ollivander will be starting her 5th year with the house of Ravenclaw. She comes to us from Rome." He announced. Minerva came in through the main door with the first years following her. In the very front of the little group was a taller student, Juliet.
Severus's head perked up immediately and he looked around madly for her. It had to be the girl he met! His friends looked at him with shocked expressions, he wasn't lying about the girl after all. All of the students looked around for a new girl and zoned in on her as she entered. The hall buzzed with excitement of the new student that was joining them.
Severus spotted her as soon as she stepped into the Great Hall. He locked onto her like a predator spotting its prey. He leaned forward and put his elbows on the table, letting his hair fall over his face.
Avery leaned over and asked "That one?"
All of his friends looked at him expectantly. He gave a small nod and said "That one."
"Where is she….ah yes! Thank you, Professor. Miss Ollivander, if you please." He said and called her to stand next to him at the podium. Juliet stood next to him with her hands folded in front of her and trying to hide behind her bangs.
"Now, Miss Ollivander is unable to speak. She is mute and can either use sign language or her wand to communicate with us." He waved his hand towards the Ravenclaw table for her to go and join her classmates. "I trust that you will all be courteous and show her a very warm welcome to Hogwarts."
She quickly went to the table and sat next to a boy with wavy blond hair and a girl with glasses. They smiled at her and welcomed her to their house. His friends sat there with their mouths hanging open as they watched her. Their heads turning from her to Severus.
"Son of a bitch…" Yaxley cursed quietly.
"Snape wasn't lying." Nott said to Lucius who agreed.
During the sorting ceremony he watched her from across the great hall. The Slytherin and the Ravenclaw tables were right next to each other but they were at different ends. She was closer to the head table where he was closer to the door. He watched her politely smile and answer yes or no questions to her new housemates as she ate dinner. Somehow he felt that Ravenclaw blue suited her very nicely. Luckily she wasnt a Gryffindor! He barely touched his plate because he was so focused on her. She'd look even better if he took those colors off of her. He shook his head and snapped out of the dark train of thought.
"So your mystery girl has a name. Wonder if she's the wand maker's kid or niece." Mulciber said as he picked at his desert.
"I can't believe she's real-no offence Snape ." Nott said.
"It's not that she's real. It's that she's really hot!" Yaxley said a little too loud. Severus' head spun around and he scowled at him. The blond boy held his hands up in surrender.
"So you gonna go talk to her right? Introduce us, will you?" Avery asked and wiggled his eyebrows.
Severus' eyebrows shot up and he stuttered "What- I can't- I mean-"
Lucius flicked his long hair over his shoulder and sat up straight "Yes, Severus. Introduce us to your friend."
His palms started to sweat "I can't. I don't know what to say. What the hell would I say?" he asked him in a low panicked voice.
The prefects stood and started to round the students up. Large groups of students from each house started to leave out the giant doors. The hall grew loud with laughter and talking. Juliet was one of the first groups out of the hall that walked down the center aisle. She still didn't see him, especially when she was much shorter than the other students in her year.
"Where's Regs?" Nott asked and looked around.
"Over there. Looks like he's going to talk to the new girl." Rowle said and pointed at him from across the hall.
Severus spun around and saw Regulus Black greet Juliet with a formal bow and kiss her hand. Regs had been Severus' friend the second he sat next to him in the great hall. He was a year younger than him and the brother of one of his mortal enemies but he was more on par with Severus mentally. He hated his brother as much as Severus did and that was something they had in common. Now his friend was touching his girl.
"That son of a bitch!" Severus cursed and clenched his fists at his side. The thought he had of claiming her as his girl didn't register with him, he was too pissed. How dare he? Severus started to make his way over to them with his other friends hot on his tail.
"Oh! Regs is making a move on your girl, Snape!" Rowle teased.
"I didn't know she was fair game…" Avery said as they pushed their way through the crowd.
Severus stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the wavy haired boy from her house get in between her and Regs and put an arm around her.
"THAT son of a bitch!" Nott said angrily about the wavy haired boy. He looked back to Severus as if saying 'well, now what?'
That didn't stop Regs from giving her a dashing smile and a flirty wink before the other boy led her up the stairs towards Ravenclaw tower. He walked over to join back up with his friends.
"Oi!" Yaxley said angrily to him as he approached.
"What the fuck, mate?" Avery asked.
"Well you were all gossiping I went to introduce myself. Welcome her to Hogwarts and what not." Regs said and put his hands in his pockets.
"Alright you lot, get moving." Filch said, ushering them out of the great hall. They started to make their way towards the dungeons.
Severus didn't say anything, his teeth were clenched and he walked stiffly along. He was obviously upset but he couldn't wrap his head around it all. She wasn't his girl to be jealous of. They weren't even friends or knew each other really. She helped him once and that was it. She didn't like him, she just pitied him the one time and did her good deed of the day. He didn't have a shot in hell with a girl like that.
"What's up with that bastard Lockhart?" Rowle asked.
"Just being the typical territorial douchebag." He shrugged and frowned slightly.
Severus started to grind his teeth, trying to keep his jealousy in check. Lucius saw this and smirked. He knew Severus better than any of them and he was going to have fun.
"What not? What does "what not" entail?" Lucius asked knowing it was getting at Severus.
"I invited her to the welcoming party this weekend and offered to help her study." He said as he walked into the common room. Every year the Slytherins had a welcome back party after the first week of school. Anyone a fifth year and up who was invited could come. There were always alcohol involved of course.
"So like your date?" Lucius asked with a fake innocent voice.
"Goddamn it!" Severus snapped and dove at his friend. They wrestled on the floor by the boys staircase. The boys broke them up after a few seconds.
"Settle down. Regs, you know that Severus likes her." Lucius said.
"No I don't!" he said suddenly. He didn't. Did he?
"Riiiiight." Yaxley said as he held one of his upper arms. He was one of the ones who pulled them apart.
"I just went over and said hello." Regs defended.
"With your lips?" Lucius said and smirked at Severus. He was having way too much fun.
"Argh!" Severus lunged at Regs again but Yaxley and Avery held him back.
"Doesn't matter anyway, Lockhart said she's going with him." Regs said with a disappointed look.
Severus felt his gut drop. She was already dating someone?! He shrugged out of his friends grasp and stormed down the staircase to his dorm. "I'm going to bed."
They waited for him to be out of earshot before they spoke again. "Maaaaaaaate." Mulciber said to Rowle and put his hands in front of his chest to cup large imaginary breasts.
"Maaaaaaaate." Rowle replied and smirked while doing the same with his hands. They were talking in reference to Juliet's chest.
Severus laid in bed with his arms behind his head in deep thought. Juliet. No wonder she never spoke, she couldn't and she probably assumed that he didn't know sign language. But he did! His mother taught him sign language when he was a child. It was a way for them to communicate to each other when his father was home. They were to never be seen or heard when he was around or else they would feel his wrath.
She probably wouldn't want anything to do with him. He was worried that if he tried to talk to her she would pretend not to know him. Lily used to do that to him when she met new people. Lily. He made a disgusted face at the thought of her now. She used him and led him on for years. He carried her books, did her homework, snuck to the kitchens after hours for her and trek across the bloody castle because she craved cookies. She knew he was touch starved and used it to her advantage.
The way she would touch his shoulder when she wanted something. He craved the physical contact so bad he said yes to it all. Then she would put her hand on his arm and get her way with everything. His friends tried to tell him for years but he wouldn't listen. It wasn't until the end of last year when he was finally at the boiling point of his tolerance. She never cared about his wants or needs and dragged him through shit that year. Potter and his friends were constantly making fun of him and attacking him for no reason and she wouldn't stand up to him. She acted as if she didn't know him at all. Then when they were alone she would tell him to let it go.
Yeah he said it. He wasn't going to deny it. He called her a Mudblood in anger and she ended their friendship. He could have used so many other names but when you're suspended upside down in the air for the world to see, you use what comes to mind first. He was actually on his way to tell her that he was done with her high priorities and shitty friendship when the Marauders intercepted him. For the record he did try to apologize and be mature about things but she wouldn't have it. All the pranks and attacks from the Marauders increased tenfold.
Then he met Juliet and all thoughts of the redheaded Gryffindor were taken over by the little Ravenclaw that helped him. The jealousy in the back of his mind wouldn't go away when he thought of Regs and Lockhart. He just needed to get her out of his system, because all he wanted to do was think about her touching him again. Merlin he was fucked up, he thought as he rolled over and closed his eyes.