So for some odd reason, FFN won't let me upload such a long chapter, so I had to break it up into 3 parts. Don't worry, I made sure to leave off at not-so-awkward places. So here's Part 1 of Chapter 7
Madame Malkin arrived within the hour of Severus sending the letter. Grace stood on a pedestal in the middle of her room as the old woman pinned and measured Grace.
"I never get to do many pieces outside of the school uniform, so I'm rather excited! Oh, stand straight dear, I don't want to make this too long," Madame Malkin said, pinning Grace's hemline.
Grace fixed her posture, standing perfectly still, "Sorry. I've never had someone make my clothes before, so this is all new to me. Frankly, a lot of things are new to me here."
"Strange to see Severus so kind to someone. He seems like an entirely different person," the woman said. "Now, tell me what your style is, dear."
Grace knew she had to get certain styles of clothing, Severus said it was necessary to a young lady's wardrobe and she passed this on to Madame Malkin, who wholeheartedly agreed. But then, Grace got an idea, "Do you know who Audrey Hepburn is, Madame Malkin?"
Grace woke up early the next morning to start making breakfast. Not at all a morning person, she padded downstairs and immediately made a pot of coffee. At least he's got that, I won't die. Severus wasn't up yet, and the house was dreadfully quiet. She pulled out her wand, that was twisted to keep her hair up in a messy bun, and flicked it, "Accio record player and a Beatles album." She figured since she was still in the Wizard world, she'd be safe from the age restriction laws on magic. Her record player flew down into her arms along with the Beatles Greatest Hits album. She put the record on, replacing the empty atmosphere with a little morning pick-me-up.
Her mood was diminished when she opened the refrigerator and there was nothing in there. Not a single thing! I guess I'll have to go grocery shopping. Merlin, what does the man live off of if Missy doesn't do it for him? Grace was in no mood to go walk over to the town and get food, nor did she want to change out of her PJs, so she begrudgingly called Missy.
"Yes, Mistress Grace?" asked the tiny house elf.
"Missy, can you do me the biggest favor?"
"Yes, of course! Anything for the kind mistress!" Grace felt horrible for taking advantage of the poor creature but this was a drastic measure!
"I need you to run to the store to fetch me these things, and here's some money. I promise this will be the last time. I really do appreciate it, though, Missy," Grace handed her a list of all of the ingredients she'd need for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Later that day, she'd run to the store herself for more of a variety of ingredients.
"Missy doesn't mind, Mistress Grace! Missy loves helping the young mistress!" and she vanished with a pop.
Grace sighed and leaned on her hand as she sipped more of the dark, bitter liquid. She'd gotten herself addicted to coffee at a young age, and now if she doesn't get her fix, she goes through caffeine withdrawal and gets a headache.
Just then, Madame Malkin floo'd through the fireplace, startling Grace out of her sleepy daze, thankfully, not spilling any coffee on herself. Madame Malkin was carrying about a dozen boxes.
"Oh, I'm sorry dear, did I startle you? Severus said to just drop off your clothes when I was finished, I didn't expect you to be up so early," Grace rushed over to help her with the boxes, stacking them on the floor, fighting the temptation to rip them open.
"Oh no, it's fine, Madame Malkin. I was up making breakfast, you didn't interrupt anything," Grace gave the woman a kind smile, running a hand through her unruly, red curls.
Madame Malkin looked at the tiny girl strangely, "Oh, I thought Severus had house elves for that."
"He does," Grace added. "She's out getting me the ingredients because the kitchen is scarce. But, I think from now on, I'll be making the meals from now on." Grace winked and gestured to the fireplace, "Madame Malkin, I can't thank you enough for everything. Anything you need, any help I could do around the shop, just Owl me, okay? Bye-bye now, have a nice day!"
The fireplace flashed the green as Madame Malkin stepped through. Grace sighed, Who knew I'd get weird looks for being a good person and not being lazy? She flipped the record over to Side B and checked her phone: nothing. Luna probably wasn't up yet. She always liked sleeping in just as much as Grace did. Grace smiled to herself; she was so lucky to have a friend like Luna in her life. She hadn't had any real friends before she met her, she never quite connected to the girls at the home and she left all of her childhood friends in Dublin when she was taken away from her family. She remembered the day she met Luna so crystal clear, it was such an important day to Grace.
An eleven-year-old Grace walked aimlessly around London, looking for this Diagon Alley described on her Hogwarts letter. The Nobles' said they knew nothing of the place, and they both had work, so Grace was left to her own devices to get her school supplies. She was starting to panic and was too afraid to ask just anybody if they knew of this secret place. She was looking high, low, left, and right for some sort of sign pointing her in the right direction. Then, she saw a tall man and a young girl with the same platinum blonde hair, and peculiarly dressed. She shrugged, and figured it was worth a shot.
"Excuse me, sir? Can I ask you a question, please?" Grace called out to the tall man. They both turned around to the redhead, the young girl, about Grace's height, looked at the distressed letter in Grace's hands and then back up to her with a wide smile.
"She's going to Hogwarts too, papa!" the smaller blonde said to the taller. Her voice was high pitched and almost melodic. She had big blue eyes, long hair down to her waist, and chubby cheeks painted with freckles. If it weren't for their hair, they could have been sisters.
The man gave Grace a slight smile, "What is your name, child?"
"Grace McClivert, sir? I-I don't come from a wizard family, sir. I don't know where to go for my things and no one here has heard of Diagon Alley," Grace said, checking her letter once again to make sure she had the right place.
The man knelt down to Grace and whispered, "That's because non-wizard folk can't even get to Diagon Alley." He pulled back and held out his hand, "Xenophilius Lovegood. And this is my daughter Luna."
Grace shook his hand, "Pleasure to meet you."
Luna grabbed Grace's hand from her father's and took it in her own, their hands dangling at their sides, "You can come get your supplies with me. I'm a first year, too."
Grace followed the odd girl and her father to a pub named The Leaky Cauldron that Grace hadn't noticed before. Inside, there were dozens of people dressed in jewel-toned cloaks with peculiar hats. Suddenly, the Lovegoods fit in perfectly, and it was Grace who stuck out like a sore thumb judging by the strange stares she was getting. Mr. Lovegood led them out back to a brick wall and tapped on the stones in a particular pattern and the bricks disappeared.
Grace's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she saw Diagon Alley for the first time. It was so much more colorful and cleaner than London's inner-city. The buildings looked to be misshapen, or it could have been the streets. Plus, the air smelled much cleaner than that of London's. Grace couldn't believe her eyes, the place was truly magical.
Their first stop was Gringotts Bank, and Grace was glad, especially after Mr. Lovegood told her that the shops didn't accept Muggle money. Mr. Lovegood went to one counter to speak to a goblin, but Luna led Grace to another counter, never leaving the redhead's side, which made things much easier. Grace set a stack of three month's worth of allowance on the counter, "Is there any way I could… maybe get this converted into Wizard currency, please?"
The goblin grumbled something in annoyance but started counting her notes. "Wow," Luna said, picking up a note and holding it up to the light. "I've never seen Muggle money before. Is that the Queen? Our currency doesn't have anyone like Minister Fudge on them," and set the note back on the counter.
Grace giggled at the girl's amazement over a note. What strange girl, indeed. Grace noticed the two beaded radishes dangling from Luna's ears, "Did you make your earrings?"
"Why yes, I did. Aren't they wonderful? Radishes are so cute," Luna said, reaching up to her ears. "I love making jewelry and clothes, anything that has to do with art, really. I can make you some if you'd like. But then, you'll have to teach me more about Muggle things."
"It's a deal then," Grace said, taking the pouches of Wizard money from the counter. She peeked inside to see gold, silver, and bronze coins, no bank notes of any sorts. "I have no idea what these are, Luna."
"Think of gold for Galleons, silver for sickles, and copper for Knuts. They're actually bronze, but it helps you remember. And there are seventeen Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Sickles to a Knut. You'll catch on, but I'll help you for today," and with that, Luna pulled Grace back out into Diagon Alley to start shopping for supplies.
Grace made a few observations throughout the day: Luna was very intelligent, despite her airy personality, her father worked for a magazine called The Quibbler and was a bit neurotic, Wizard currency made no sense, and most all Wizards were very kind. The two girls got their books together, got their robes fitted together— where they learned they were almost exactly the same size— and got their wands together. Luna's wand was made of mahogany, 12", unicorn core, and had a tulip handle. Grace's was ebony, 10", unicorn core, with a handle that sort of spiraled, almost having a blue sheen to it.
Luna got a light gray owl, but Grace decided while in the owlry, the birds were too much, and an Owl would never be allowed at the Nobles' flat. So, she decided on a cat, a black one just like the witches in the movies had. She named the tiny kitten Cas and the shop owner promised that he was trained to be a perfect witch's assistant, but really, Grace was just looking for a good excuse to get a pet cat.
Before the day ended, and Grace had to return home to the Nobles', Luna grabbed both of Grace's hands, "Promise that no matter what houses we're sorted into, we'll still be friends?"
Grace couldn't believe that in just one short day, she had already made a friend, and she wasn't even trying. She wondered if Luna was like her, and didn't have many friends. Plus, going to a new school with a friend already made would make the transition a lot easier. Grace nodded and smiled, giving Luna's hands a squeeze, "I promise."
Luna's smile went from ear-to-ear as she hugged Grace tightly, "Oh, wonderful! I can't wait for school to start now! Be careful of the Nargles!" That was the last thing Luna called out before disappearing with her father among the London crowd.
Missy soon returned with the ingredients and Grace began on breakfast, despite Missy's protests to help. Instead, Grace put her in charge of record duty— just to get her to stop hitting herself— and had her run upstairs to her room to fetch her Sound of Music soundtrack. Missy's job was flipping the record once the one side was finished and Missy was very proud of her new role, especially after Grace had convinced her she was being a very big help.
Severus woke up that morning to the house being filled with The Beatles, but now as he made his way down the stairs, dressed and ready for the day, the house was filled with happy-go-lucky, sing-songy, music, along with a voice he had never heard before. He peeked into the kitchen to see a tiny redheaded girl dancing in her pajamas around the stove and singing along to the record playing.
Grace had her eyes closed as she spun around, not noticing the professor leaning up against the kitchen door frame with a very amused smirk on his face. "I have confidence in confidence alone. Besides which you see I have confidence in me!" she hit the last note, which Severus may add was quite impressive, with her arms open wide. When the button hit, she took a breath and finally opened her eyes, seeing her audience. The girl practically jumped back with a screech and hit her back on the counter, "Bloody hell!" she let out on accident. She'd probably have a bruised spine from her reaction.
Severus couldn't help but laugh. Not at her, but at her reaction, "Are you alright?"
" 's not funny!" her face was as red as her hair now. "You should really wear a bell! Bein' all mysterious and shite and poppin' up outta nowhere like that! Now I'm gonna go hide under a rock for the rest of my life! I made fresh coffee!" her accent was thick and with her embarrassed state, she just went off with no filter.
She tried to stomp out of the kitchen but Severus held out his arm to stop her, "You're not going to hide for the rest of your life."
"Yes, I am!"
"Why? What happened to that confidence you were singing about? I thought you were pretty brilliant," it had been so long since the house wasn't filled with misery and tears, Grace's aura of sunshine and happiness accompanied by music was a pleasant shock to Severus that seemed to chip away at his stone cold heart.
Now Grace was blushing, "Really?" She had never sung alone in front of anybody before, and therefore never had any feedback and had her believing that she wasn't any good to be able to sing alone in front of people, to begin with.
Severus, with a straight face, said, "I never lie, Miss McClivert."
"What do you mean you've never had pancakes before?" Grace gaped at the man across from her as he drank his coffee and shrugged.
"My parents weren't exactly… Mr. and Mrs. Brady, Grace," he gave her a sad smile.
Grace decided not to push. She knew how difficult it was to talk about a dark childhood and wouldn't appreciate it if she was on the receiving end of questions. Instead, she chose to brighten the mood, "Well, then I am honored to be the first to serve Severus Snape chocolate chip pancakes. Now eat your bacon, mister, before it gets cold!"
"Can't believe I'm getting bossed around by a fourteen-year-old."
"Hey! I'll be fifteen July 8th! It's a national holiday, I mean, everyone should know," now she was just being silly. Severus wouldn't expect any less since she's had three cups of coffee. He was just glad she wasn't jumping off the walls at this point.
"I'll alert the papers," he said sarcastically. "Anyway, Grace, do you have any plans on changing out of your pajamas?"
"On a normal day, no, but today, I have to garden, so yes! I'll be right back!" Grace got up and ran up the stairs. Severus turned around to see Missy standing in the corner where Grace had put her so the house elf would stop trying to help.
"Missy, you may clean up."
"Oh, thank you, master! Missy has been dying to help!" the tiny house elf couldn't have gotten back to work faster.
Grace came down the stairs moments later in an old t-shirt, patched up overalls, sneakers, her hair braided in two long side braids, and an old straw sunhat. She was awfully pleased with the farmer aesthetic of her outfit, but Severus didn't seem to share the same opinion.
"They're gardening clothes! They're not supposed to be pretty and new. I do look adorable, don't I?" she gave a little twirl.
Severus just rolled his eyes, "Sure, Grace, whatever you say. Did you remember to take your inhaler?" She nodded. "And you have your wand?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. If I'm not back in twenty minutes you can send a search party, you'll find my body mauled by a rake and strangled by a gardening hose," she made her way to the door but he followed her and grabbed her wrist.
"Grace, I'm being serious, I-" and then he noticed them. The thin, silver scars on her tiny wrists. She was so pale, they could hardly be noticed, but he felt the raised skin under his fingers. He grabbed her other wrist, flipping them, checking for any new marks. Thankfully, they were all old, and tiny. What happened that made her do this? Who hurt her so badly to make her think that she would deserve this? Why has no one ever said anything about this?
Grace's cheeks were tinted a dark red and her eyes had started to fill with tears. She pulled her wrists away from Severus' grasp and went out the door, keeping her head down. "I'll be back soon," she called over her shoulder and ran down the driveway, rubbing at her eyes to stop her tears. She could feel Severus' stare boring into the back of her skull, the stare that everyone gave her. Oh, you poor thing, being taken away from your parents. Oh, you poor thing having to live in an orphanage. Oh, you poor thing with depression. Let me give you a sympathetic look every time I see you. That was why she didn't open up to just anybody. The only other person she had told was Luna, but thankfully Luna didn't change how she acted towards Grace. She made sure not to mention certain things, but she didn't treat Grace like glass. But now she was afraid Severus would change his ways towards her. She liked how things were going, she liked how they had just started to casually talk to each other, not as a professor and student. And now everything was going to change.