Chapter Five (B)
oOo
Reflecting on his day, Severus couldn't help smiling. Cornelius' words did much to help ease his loneliness. It was nice to know that his older cousin/uncle had taken the time to explain certain important details about the succession that he would not have otherwise known. Also, his heartwarming tone had done much to make Severus feel welcome, an accepted and beloved member of the family, ready to take up the baton and carry on the family responsibilities.
After the tragedy of his parents' untimely deaths and the heartache of losing Lily's friendship, Severus didn't think he'd ever have cause to smile again. As it is, with the years of torment at the hands of the Marauders and Dumbledore's blatant tendency to look the other way, Severus had not had much to smile about during his years at Hogwarts. This was on top of his own unhappy home life at Spinner's End.
Hogwarts was supposed to be his refuge; instead, it had turned into an experience that was even more distressing than his father's tirades. Today, having gained some perspective, Severus was able to look back on the past year, and finally see that there had been a few positive experiences as well—Mr. Wiggenweld's friendship and help in applying to the school in America were certainly a major source of inspiration for him; also, his study partners helped make what could have been a long, lonely year much more bearable.
In Kingsley, he had found a new friend with whom he hoped to stay in touch. He also liked Regulus and Amelia and hoped to keep in touch with them, as well. In Avery, the son of a Death Eater, perhaps he had found someone who needed a friend as much as he did—if only to avoid being forced into the service of You-Know-Who.
However, such notions were very dangerous, and any overtures regarding such traitorous ideas would have to be couched in very delicate words. Whatever the consequences, Severus didn't think he could abandon a boy who had invited him for a week's stay in his home for the Midsummer's Eve just because he wanted to help a friend who was hurting at the time.
'It's not like I have so many friends that I can afford to lose to another. And speaking of new friends...'
"Toppy! Libby!" he called. Two simultaneous pops heralded the arrival of the manor's resident house elves.
"Yes, Kind Master Severus! What can Toppy do for you?" As he spoke, the male house elf comically twitched his large ears; tightly clasped his tiny hands together prayerfully; and adoringly gazed upon Severus with his bulbous violet eyes.
"And Libby...what can Libby do for Kind Master Severus, Missy Baby Eileen's own little baby boy?" The petite female elf suddenly threw herself at Severus' knees and sobbed her heart out. "Libby misses her Missy Baby Eileen, but Libby loves her new, Kind Master Severus—"
"Yes, yes...um, there, there, Libby. I know; I miss my mum, too. I'm glad you loved her so much. I think she missed you, too."
At his awkward search for words of comfort, Libby burst into a whole new set of torrential tears and simply clung onto his legs even more tightly. Severus had to figure out whether she was shedding tears of gladness or of sadness. She seemed to go from one extreme to another.
"Toppy, can you help me here?" he asked desperately. He could feel his pants getting soaked through from Libby's tears already.
"Yes, Kind Master Severus, Toppy help." Toppy immediately yanked Libby off Severus and scolded her. "Libby, bad elf! No be sad day—today is happy, glorious day! Kind Master Severus come to Misty Manor to be our new master. Toppy and Libby not alone anymore. Be happy, Libby. Missy Baby Eileen gone, but her own little baby boy is now Master!"
Toppy's oddly convoluted words must have brought her some comfort because soon Libby's tears began to recede and her sobs to slow down until all that was left was an occasional sniffle.
"Libby is sorry, Kind Master Severus. Libby is bad elf and must be punished. Libby will iron her hands later tonight—"
"No!" Severus cried. "Remember what we talked about this afternoon? There will be no self-punishments that I have not authorized, understood? Nothing that causes an elf any pain will be tolerated in this house."
"Libby forgot," Libby wailed. "Libby bad elf!" She immediately began to pound her head on the stone fireplace.
"No! Libby, stop!" Severus yelled, grabbing her and preventing her from causing herself further harm. "Libby, remember...no self-punishments that hurt without my permission!" Severus reminded her. 'And it'll be a cold day in Hell when I authorize such a thing!' He silently vowed.
"Kind Master Severus is just like his mother, my own Missy Baby Eileen! Libby does not deserve such goodness!" Before she could throw herself at Severus again, Toppy caught her by the waist and held her with all his might.
"Look, Toppy...Libby, you loved my mother and made her life here a happy one. I'm glad my mum had those happy years to carry her through some not-so-happy ones. As far I'm concerned, you are servants of the house and should be treated with the respect that a member of the household staff deserves. If it weren't for you two, this place would've gone to ruin ages ago. So, I have you to thank for how well you've maintained my ancestral home."
He looked them each in the eye, and solemnly shook their hands. "Thank you, Toppy. Thank you, Libby. For your valued and loyal service to the Prince family and to Mystic Manor."
At his sincere words and grateful gesture, both house elves threw themselves at him and sobbed their everlasting love and loyalty to him, the Princes, and Mystic Manor. Rolling his eyes at their histrionics, Severus nevertheless patted them gently on the back, murmuring soothing words until they quieted down.
When they were finally ready to listen, Severus felt somewhat guilty over the news he had to tell them.
"Toppy, Libby, I don't know how to put this," he said, keeping a careful eye on their responses, "but I'm not home to stay, yet." Catching the telltale sign of yet another crying jag about to let loose, Severus hurriedly explained. "You see, I'm only sixteen years old and I haven't completed my formal schooling yet. I still have another year of secondary, and then I'm planning on pursuing a Potions Mastery, which can take up to five years—longer if you're a dunderheaded Gryffindor."
At the house elves' look of abject horror and heartbreak, he quickly continued, "Of course, I don't intend on taking that long. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I earned my mastery within two years—less if my current idea proves successful, and I can present it to the Board of International Potions Masters. I plan on becoming the youngest Potions Master in Britain in at least a generation." He placed a warm hand on two small shoulders. "That way I can come home much sooner and start up my own potions lab."
An hour later, Severus was reclining on the humongous master bed that could probably sleep a Quidditch team and still have room to field the second string. As he went over the evening's conversation, Severus' mouth quirked in amusement. Toppy and Libby had finally calmed down after his promising that he would always return to Mystic Manor during the school holidays.
"After all, this is my home now," Severus explained, "and you're my family."
His words, of course, set off another round of tears and cries of "Oh, Kind Master Severus, is too good for us...just like my beautiful Missy Baby Eileen!" from Libby, and "We is so lucky to have such a wonderful and loving master!" from Toppy.
In the end, the elves took charge, as Severus discovered they always did in matters of their master's comfort, insisting that as the Master of the House, he had to take the master bedroom suite. Of course, no one mentioned that the bedroom was more than 10,000 square feet in area—almost five times the size of the ground floor at Spinner's End, perhaps even edging out the Slytherin common room. He was too sleepy to explore it tonight, but he intended to check it out square foot by square foot in the morning.
oOo
His final morning in Mystic Manor dawned cool and misty. Dressing quickly, he donned his jeans and a black t-shirt, and threw a heavy, corded sweater over it. He grabbed his leather jacket as he stepped out of the master bedroom, intending to stroll the grounds before breakfast. As he reached the bottom of the back staircase that led to the vast kitchens, he was met by his two eager house elves.
"Good morning, Kind Master Severus!" Libby greeted him by throwing her arms around his leg in an affectionate hug.
Bending down, Severus patted her gently on the back and returned her greeting. "Good morning, Libby. Good morning, Toppy. How are you two doing this morning?"
"We is good, Master Severus!" Toppy exclaimed. "Does Master want his breakfast now?"
"Not just yet, Toppy. I'm going to take a walk around the grounds—go explore some of the nearby woods. Also, I really want to look at the gardens. I thought I caught the scent of some herbs. I take it we have a kitchen garden as well as a flower garden?"
"Oh, yes, Master Severus!" Toppy replied. "I help Old Mistress Margaret plant kitchen garden. Old Mistress insisted on fresh herbs for cooking."
"Missy Baby Eileen loved kitchen garden," Libby said sadly. "Played with dollies and Libby in garden."
"Are there only cooking herbs, Toppy?" Severus asked. "No herbs for brewing potions?"
Toppy shook his head, his violet eyes widening in distress. Was his new Master disappointed? Sad at what he saw as a personal failure on his part, Toppy valiantly fought back the tears as he explained. "Old Mistress forbid Missy Baby Eileen from turning kitchen garden into potions garden when Missy was in Hoggywarts."
"Missy love potions at Hoggywarts," Libby said proudly.
"Old Mistress was a Black and not like Potions," Toppy added. "She say Potions not real magic...no wands." He sniffed. "Elves no use wands. We do magic." He snapped his fingers and the kitchen became a beehive of activity, one corner preparing breakfast, while another prepped for lunch and later dinner.
"Old Mistress want Missy marry cousin Cyggy Black." Libby's usually open face suddenly turned dark. "Cyggy Black bad boy! Missy no like!" Her lips began to wobble. "Missy go away and never come back." She held a tiny handkerchief to her nose and blew. "Missy go away and not take Libby with her!"
Toppy hugged her to him to console her. He looked up Severus, his eyes beseeching. "When Master leave, Kind Master Severus come back home to Misty Manor?"
"Toppy, Mystic Manor is my home now. Wherever I go from this point forward, I will always carry it in my heart. I promise, I will always return here if it's within my power to do so."
Nodding to the subdued house elves, Severus headed out for his morning stroll. Toppy and Libby had given him much food for thought. He was related to the Blacks? He called up the genealogy chart in his mind. Thanks to his Occlumency, he had almost total recall of what he'd read. Tracing the family lines, he found Augustus Prince. Next to him, he saw that he had married Margaret Black Burke on August 10, 1938.
'Douse the burners and remove the cauldrons! My grandmother was a Black?' He paused to let that bit of news sink in. 'And who in Merlin's name is Cyggy Black? Sounds like a poor imitation of David Bowie—Ladies and gentlemen! I present...Cyggy Stardust Black, the new singing and cross-dressing sensation from beyond the stars!'
He remembered fifth year Slytherin student Narcissa Black his first year at Hogwarts. He recalled that she was Sirius' first cousin and quite livid when he was Sorted into Gryffindor. Until Sirius, all the Blacks had been Sorted into Slytherin.
'If memory serves correctly wasn't Narcissa's father named Cygnus Black? I seem to remember her and Sirius talking one day, and Sirius mentioned an Uncle Cygnus. Could that be Libby's Cyggy?' He shook his head at life's little surprises. 'Merlin, help me! I could've been first cousin to that dung heap, Sirius! As it is, knowing I'm related to him even a little makes me want to scrub in really hot water!'
Well, he had a lot to do this morning, starting with adding to the wards. He'd found a book that Cornelius had tabbed for him. It was a Prince journal detailing the history of the ancient wards about the property. His knowledge of wards was somewhat limited as warding was not a course covered at Hogwarts. However, the syllabus for the summer showed an Introduction to Warding as a course offering. He intended to enroll in the course and hopefully learn enough not get himself killed while attempting to add onto the property wards.
Therefore, because of his still limited knowledge, he decided to begin with only basic wards similar to the ones he used to protect his trunk and his personal space at school. It wouldn't do much to the property wards on this scale, but it would add his signature to the manor grounds, and thus make him the true Master of the House...
oOo
After breakfast, he returned to the master bedroom for a shower and change of clothing. Carefully checking his appearance in the mirror, he looked for any area on his reflection that fell short of what he wanted to present—that of a serious and responsible Head of House. His new dress robes were embroidered with a subtle strand of silver and green piping on the sleeves and down the front seams; better yet, they billowed just so when he turned on his heel.
Under the robes he wore a conservatively cut dark grey suit with a crisp, button-down white shirt. His green and white Slytherin house tie gave exactly the air of gravitas that Severus hoped to convey. He topped off his ensemble with a pair of heirloom gold cufflinks embossed with the Prince crest. This, plus his ring of office, proclaimed him the Head of the Noble House of Prince.
Seeing his hair fall in a curtain in front of his face, he impatiently transfigured an elastic band into a black ribbon and used it to tie it back. There! Gone was the awkward, pubescent sixteen-year-old schoolboy; in his place stood the mature, intelligent young wizard that he wanted to present to the greater wizarding world.
'Okay, they'll have to grant me an Apparition license, even if I'm not yet seventeen. I'm an emancipated minor; I should be granted all the rights and privileges of being an adult. One of those privileges is the right to apply for an Apparition license.'
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and began working through his Occlumency exercises. He took his anxiety and feelings of insecurity and began to gently push them down the warm, soothing dark waters of his mental Black Lake. As he worked through his mental exercises, sinking further down into the depths of the Black Lake, something new and different was created by his Occlumency shields. As he watched, seven boxes similar to the intricately carved box with the Prince emblem he'd received from Nagrock materialized at the bottom of the lake.
Two of the boxes were double wrapped in heavy-duty, stainless steel chains and shackled to the lakebed. The heavy chains were then run through the clasp in the front of the box and padlocked. The two, chained boxes were vibrating as if in anger and transmitting disturbing auras of violence, rage, and deep torment. Severus reached his hand out tentatively, but jerked back when he felt a sudden, knife-like pain shoot through his heart. He quickly conjured a bubble charm and took long, calming breaths. As it is, he had to struggle with the urge to breakdown and start crying.
'Dear Merlin, what the Hell was that?' He wondered, breathing raggedly.
He looked around him at the other sealed boxes; the five remaining boxes were lined neatly. None had heavy chains, but four were locked with a heavy-duty padlock. The lid of the fifth box was closed, but it was not locked. Instead, it sat on the lake bottom much as the original heraldic box sat in the middle of Nagrock's desk, quiescent, waiting for him to open it.
Severus finally figured out what the boxes represented: his own memories, along with any emotional pain that went with it. The chained boxes were probably so poignant that he locked them down in order to be able to function from day to day. He didn't remember constructing the underwater boxes, so he must have been separating his painful memories either while he slept, or unconsciously while awake.
Opening the unlocked box, he carefully laid to rest his latest feelings of anxiety and inadequacy inside it. Just as carefully, he withdrew and gently closed the lid. When he did so, he felt the warm waters of the Black Lake begin to recede, and soon he was blinking his eyes open.
After he was back to full awareness, Severus stood staring at his reflection in the mirror, feeling stunned. He'd read during his self-study of Occlumency that the caster would eventually be able to compartmentalize his memories for better access. It also allowed an Occlumens the ability to hide the memories all the easier.
Severus glared at his reflection. His dark eyes exuded a commanding attitude that demanded obedience; holding himself to his full height, he projected a self-confidence that had to be respected.
Nodding to himself, Severus headed to the library and the Floo. Taking a pinch of floo powder, he tossed it into the fireplace. Standing back, he watched as the flames turned a bright green. Enunciating his words clearly and distinctly, he called out, "Ministry of Magic!"
Prior to stepping into the Floo, he took a deep breath to keep from breathing in any of the ashes while in transport. Thus prepared, Severus stepped forward and spun out of sight...
oOo
TBC...
Acknowledgement: As always—a special thanks goes to Alethea27, probably my favorite HP fanfic writer (because she just gets Severus Snape) for taking the time out of her own busy writing schedule to help Beta-read this. Also, I wish to take the time to thank everyone who has read and reviewed my story, as well as, anyone who has placed the story in his or her Favorites or Alerts. Thank you so much!
Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter and the characters inhabiting it belong to J.K. Rowling. This story does not intend any copyright infringement. I confess to creating a few OC's as Severus will go the US—soon! (I hope.)
Copyright: 2015
