Chapter Four: Severus Snape
Age: 11
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters or any of the plots in the later chapters (9 onwards). I do, however, own any plot twists before then and a few mixed in later on, and I also own any characters that have just been introduced into this story. If you wish to use any of them in story of your own, please ask before doing so. If you're a skilled writer and such, I'll have no problem!
Acacia tore through the house, waist-length raven hair streaming out behind her. She looked like a bird in flight, her cloak flying behind her, almost as if caught up in a whirlwind. As she ran down the third floor corridor, people in portraits all over the place were crying out in surprise, their portraits swinging on their hooks, nearly falling to the floor. She was by far creating a disturbance, and her Aunt Walburga was shouting at her from a portrait she had just passed. "Ladies never run!" Her voice was droned out by the wind in the young girl's ears, she screamed around the corner, sending the mat flying from beneath her feet. She had never run so fast, so freely.
She didn't even blush, or apologize, when she ran in on her brother, Evan, and his most recent girlfriend, Amarantha Parkinson. "Hurry!" She cried, as her Evan and Marrie broke apart, looking annoyed. "Come to the kitchen. Hurry!" And she was gone again, tearing up the house in her frantic search for family members.
Back in the room she had just left, Evan smiled as an owl tapped on the window, a letter addressed in green ink in its beak.
"That'll be it," He said to Amarantha, who giggled girlishly. "She's starting this year, been waiting forever."
"She sure does seem happy…"
"Just wait until the day actually comes when we leave. You think she's excited now? The next couple weeks will be hell!"
Ambrose and AnnaSophia were sitting at the kitchen table, talking in low voices, when Acacia sprinted into the room, tired and obviously out of breath. 'You weren't in your room! Or the living room, or the dining room, or any of the other bedrooms, you weren't in the attic o the basement either!" She looked frantic, her hair knotted and wild, as if she had just gotten off her broom.
"You check all those places before looking in here?" Her mother laughed, blue eyes sparkling in a way that even Acacia's couldn't manage. She had always been amused by her daughter, who now stood in front of her, 11 years old. Her body, steadily maturing, was thin and tiny. She was clothed in things her mother had longed to dress her in, even before her birth. The petticoats flowed to the floor, the bits visible beneath her black dress when she ran. Her corset was tight, but, at her age, there wasn't anything there to fill it.
She had draped around her shoulders her traveling cloak, and was looking positively excited.
"Come on, mother! We have to go to Diagon Alley! Now!" She was now shaking with excitement, her long fingered hands trembling as she held them out, clutching her Hogwarts letter tightly.
"You got it?" AnnaSophia whispered quietly, as Evan and Amarantha entered through the doorway behind Acacia.
"Of course she got it!" Roared her father, as he stood from his chair, nearly knocking over the table in his haste. He wasn't exactly a tiny man, for he stood tall, and was slightly pudgy around the middle.
He hurried to his daughter's side, hugging her tightly, almost picking her up completely. Her mother still sat at the table, looking dumbfounded. Evan slipped past his father and sister, and hurried to his mother's side. She had acted the same when he had received his first Hogwarts letter.
As the tears started to roll down her face, Evan hastily tried to wipe them before Acacia seen. But it was too late. Amarantha pulled Evan backwards, as Acacia slowly approached her mother, looking upset.
"Momma?" She stood there, feeling stupid, before reaching out to hug her mother, who was starting to sob openly.
"Oh, my baby. I'll miss you so much!" She stood up, standing a full head taller than her daughter. As she rapped the tiny girl in her arms, tears started to roll down her pale cheeks, as well.
"I'll stay, if that's what you want… I don't want you to be lonely!" AnnaSophia hugged her daughter closer, before pulling back. She smiled downwards, wiping the tears from Acacia's face with a manicured nail.
"No, no, my dear. Come, we'll head straight to Diagon Alley, and get your things. Evan, love, give me your letter, and I'll get them too." Evan moved past his sister, who was now talking with Amarantha about the different Hogwarts Houses, and handed his mother the letter. Tucked inside were a handful of Galleons, and a slight smile touched his cold face.
"Get her something nice, Mother. I know it's your tradition to get her an owl, so anything else she wants, alright?"
AnnaSophia smiled and nodded, kissing her son on the forehead. He pulled back, flushing, and looked nervously towards Amarantha. Abandoning her attempts to show love to her eldest, she grabbed his sister, pulling her towards the fire.
"Good luck." Said Amarantha, smiling.
"Have fun!" Chorused Ambrose, an arm around both Evan and Amarantha.
"Remember, mother. Something she wants." Evan smiled and waved, as his mother and sister stepped into the fire, both shouting 'Diagon Alley!'
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First years will require:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protected gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The standard book of spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffing
A beginner's guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spote
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A guide to Self Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 3)
1 set glass or crystal Phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students maybe also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"Can I have an owl, like Evan?" Asked Acacia, shoving her way through the crowd towards Eylopes Owl Emporium.
"Of course, love. We need to get everything, don't forget." AnnaSophia tried hard to keep up with her daughter, who was running from store to store, sometimes shoving people out of the way. When she finally caught up to her daughter, she grabbed unto her arm, and started to pull her towards Madame Malkins Robes. "In fact, let's get everything else first."
"Okay!" Unfazed, she took off once again.
As they entered the store, the sound of the hustle and bustle from outside faded. The sound of Acacia's petticoats rustling against the floor way the only thing to be heard, except for low voices coming from the back, and the two girl's heels clicking against that hardwood floor.
They made their way through the racks, Acacia dragging her fingers through them, smiling when she felt silk, and wincing when wool brushed her finger tips. The voices began to grow louder, and as the Rosier ladies reached the back fitting room, they seen who they belonged too.
AnnaSophia smiled at the woman who stood next to her son, who was no doubt Acacia's age. He was taller, but his hair was the same dark colour, just greasier. His eyes were black as well, and his skin pale and sallow. The boys nose was hooked and his body thinner than was normal. He obviously got his looks from the woman standing next to him, but his height came from the man, who stood slightly behind.
He was tall, and dark, and Acacia felt herself shrink back nearer to her mother.
"He won't hurt you," Hissed the boy, so that only she could hear. "Your not family, he only hurts family"
Acacia looked shocked. "He hurt's you?"
The boy never answered her; instead he held out his hand and smiled. "Severus Snape."
She smiled back, albeit a little uneasily. "Acacia Rosier."
They shook hands, and Severus' skin felt cold against hers, almost as if it was winter, and he had gone all day without gloves.
"Hogwarts, dears?" The voice was sweet, and both Acacia and her new acquaintance nodded. Their mothers were to busy talking to notice they had been called forwards, and Severus' father hung back, watching through disdainful eyes.
She measured Severus first, while telling Acacia to take off her Petticoats. "You can leave on the corset, dear. Your undergarments too, I just need all that fluff of yours gone.'
Acacia nodded, and stripped down. She wasn't even conscience of the fact that both Severus and his Father were watching her, but if she had been, it was doubtful she would have cared. She raised her hands into the air as Madame Malkin began measuring her, and Severus smiled slightly. Still, Acacia didn't notice.
As they waited for the woman to come back, Acacia and Severus began talking again. She was in the middle of laughing at a joke her had told, when she stopped, her eyes widening.
She had turned to look out the window, and she seen her Aunt Walburga, and cousin's Sirius and Regulus coming their way. Acacia had forgotten that Sirius, too, was entering Hogwarts this year.
"Could you hurry please, Madame?" She called over her shoulder, a note of panic in her voice.
"Something wrong, dear?" AnnaSophia called, noticing the distress in her daughter's voice.
"Aunt Walburga's coming." She stumbled off the stool to the mirror, where she began fixing her hair, which was already perfect. Forgetting that Severus was just an acquaintance, and also that she was just dressed in her corset and undergarments, she turned to him and asked: "How do I look?"
She flushed nearly as soon as she said it, as did Severus. Glancing at the adults, minus AnnaSophia, who had wandered into the back to find robes to cover Acacia's body, he nodded slowly. "You- eh- look great." He flushed deeper. "Who's Walpurga?"
"Walburga. She's my Aunt, and a horrid person." Acacia shuddered. "I hate her, the only good thing she spawned are my cousin's, Sirius and Regulus."
"Well, here she comes." Severus glanced towards the front door, just as the bell rung.
Acacia, now dancing on her feet, tried to hide behind him, but her cousin Regulus had already seen her.
"'Cacia! Hi!" He ran forward, and dragged her out from behind the equally as naked Severus. Hugging her tightly, he cried, "I haven't seen you in forever!"
"Reg, please, before you mother-"
But it was too late. Walburga Black had already noticed her brother-in-laws daughter.
"Acacia Bella Branwen Rosier! What are you doing?" Sirius appeared behind his mother, looking horrified.
"Standing in a store, half naked, surrounded by people you don't know. What kind of lady does such a thing?" Acacia looked positively horrified, while the Snape's looked nervous. Except for Severus, who was frowning at the intrusive woman. He glanced at Acacia, wanting to help her. She looked as if a piano had dropped on her head.
Sirius hurried past his mother, pulling off his traveling cloak, and rapping it around Acacia, pulling it tight. He shot a look at Severus, which plainly said 'don't look at her again, you perv.'
AnnaSophia came, hurrying out of the back room, Acacia's robes in her hands. She froze, however, as soon as she looked at her daughter. Sirius had her hugged tight to his chest, his cloak still rapped around her. Acacia, to her mother's surprise, wasn't even trying to get loose of her cousin's protective grip. She looked at her mother, pleading silently to make her Aunt leave. Her mother had, before, stood up to Walburga, but it was obvious that she had been beaten down by the older woman.
A strange emotion ran through Acacia's blood as she watched her mother, standing fearfully in her sister-in-law's shadow. Acacia had the sudden urge to yell at her mother, yell at her to stand up for what she believed in, and yell at her for being such a pansy. The emotion was gone just as quick as it came, however, when Sirius began to talk.
"Mother, let her go. She was just doing what the woman told her to do…"
"Shush, Sirius. It's none of your concern" Acacia could tell by the tightening of her cousin's grip that he was angry. He was almost squeezing her very soul out of her.
She began to wiggle in his grip, and he let her go. His cloak slipped from her, revealing her body once again. She hastily pulled on her gown, then her cloak, and started for the door. "Let's go," She said to her mother, who hadn't moved in the past few minutes. Turning to Severus, she said: "It was nice to meet you, Severus Snape. I'll see you at Hogwarts?"
He nodded, surprised that she looked apologetic. He waved her over gently, and said in her ear, much to the disdain of her cousin, "Slytherin, right?" He smiled. "I'll write, don't worry about her, either. She criticizes you because she's jealous you look the way she wishes she did. My father's much the same. It'll be better once we're gone."
He pulled back, but she pulled him back down. "Thanks," she whispered, ignoring the snort of disapproval from her aunt, "Slytherin, defiantly. Um, I'll write back." She pulled back, smiling awkwardly.
Acacia waved to her new friend as she left the shop, barely listening to her Aunt, who was now attacking Severus' parents.
"I'm sorry, sweetie, I didn't mean-"
"It's okay, mother. I'm perfectly happy." She smiled, glancing back once more at the shop. "Let's go get my wand, alright? And then an owl!"
Confused, AnnaSophia followed.
I was going to write more, but I think that this is pretty good. I enjoy it, it lead's tothe rest of the story quite nicely, aha. R&R!
-sl.smith