Chapter XI
Lunch was a quiet affair as Cyrille tried to assess her guardian's temper. After her bout of accidental magic, the man seemed rather short on temper. She kept on shooting him furtive glances as they made their way through lunch, but Snape seemed to be deep in thought as he was glaring at thin air. She tried to catch his attention several times by coughing discreetly or clearing her throat, and at one point Snape got irritated and finally spoke up.
"Do you have some kind of a disease, Miss Cromwell?" he asked scathingly.
"No, I was just trying to see when you'd notice me," said Cyrille, her eyes filled with glee as she remembered the hilarious situation only a few moments ago. The man shot her a glare and she schooled her expression into indifference, although she barely succeeded. She supposed the man hated to be made to look like a fool, but she couldn't help it. It was simply too funny. "What are you thinking about?" she asked to steer the conversation to a safer topic.
"I wasn't aware that I was required to share my thoughts with you," he said. Then, noticing the frown on the girl's face, he sighed and continued. "I was merely thinking about your peculiar situation."
"What's so peculiar about me?"
"Your experiences with accidental magic were rather unusual. Children normally experience accidental magic as early as two, but you said that you've never experienced it until recently."
"Does that mean something's wrong with me?" she asked a little worriedly.
"Do not worry yourself over these things. I will not let any harm come to you."
"I know. I just wish that I would learn to control my magic already! Don't you think I'm too old for this accidental magic business?"
"Wizards older than yourself still experience accidental magic from time to time, although not as often. Believe me, this is perfectly normal. Do not worry; you will definitely learn control once you get a better hold of your magic."
"But what if it happens again? What if I get mad and you're not there to help me get over my temper? I'd probably end up killing someone!"
"Which is why you should control your temper!" he snapped at her. "However, I do not think that it is likely to occur in the future. Of course, you are still bound to cause accidents but they will no longer have the same effect. Accidental magic is normally never that strong. I suppose in your case, since it was your first time to experience this, all of the magic that you have somehow suppressed through the years have surfaced at once and it resulted in a burst of raw power," he said.
"I guess that makes sense. I suppose that I was worried because everything's just so new to me. I would really hate to cause any unnecessary harm to others," said the girl seriously.
"You have no need to fear magic, Miss Cromwell. I assure you that you will learn it in time. And soon, you will be so used to it that you would begin to think of it as something you naturally do," said Snape to placate his ward. She gave him a reassured smile.
After lunch, they both went back to their own rooms to rest. When Cyrille stepped into her room, she felt a little confused at first. She went back outside to see if she had perhaps entered the wrong room but decided that it was definitely hers. Severus is being really considerate. I didn't mind how the room looked before, but this is definitely better. It feels so cozy. She felt herself smiling like an idiot as she fell into the comforts of her bed.
"Miss Cromwell, I will be leaving tonight as I have some business to attend to. It is possible that I will return rather late, and I expect you to be in bed by then," said the man sternly. The girl gave him a nod, and he took that as a sign to continue. "Please do not do anything stupid to get yourself hurt because you will find that I will not have any sympathy for you should that happen. You will find yourself in a very unfortunate predicament instead. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Severus. Stop worrying, I'm not stupid!"
"We shall see about that," said Snape. He retrieved something silver from his pocket and handed it to the girl. It was a necklace with elegant inscriptions on it. "This will give you a means to contact me should anything unprecedented happen. Hold it and whisper my name and I will know that you need me. Use it only if there is an emergency."
Severus is so paranoid. Honestly! Leaving me alone for one night won't kill me. I've been living alone in my aunt's house for ages and nothing's ever happened to me. Outwardly, the girl merely showed a hint of annoyance at her guardian's fussing but nodded anyway.
Snape didn't know why he felt so worried about leaving the brat alone for one night. He wasn't used to feeling this way. Before, he never had to worry about anyone but himself, and his priority was to keep himself alive long enough until the Dark Lord was defeated. But now, he actually had someone waiting for him to come home, and it felt different. He rather liked this change. He supposed that this was how it felt like to be a parent.
"I shall take my leave then. Behave," said Snape as he stepped through the door. He heard the girl wish him a safe journey and he Disapparated with a pop.
He reappeared in a dark alley and moved silently to avoid drawing attention to himself. He cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and started scanning the area for his purpose. Once he had spotted his target, he followed the figure until they reached an old house. When the figure entered it, he quickly followed suit before the door would close in on him.
Snape watched as the figure removed its cloak to reveal an old woman looking tired from her journey. He lifted the charm from himself and made his presence known because he felt like he was intruding on the woman's privacy.
"Minerva," he said quietly. The woman jumped and instantly pointed her wand to his face. He remained still.
"Severus?" whispered the woman, her lips trembling as she tried to make sense of what was happening. "Is—is that really you?" she asked as she inched a few steps closer to the man. Then slowly, she lowered her wand and grabbed the man by his shoulders. "You're alive! You… You're really alive," she said disbelievingly, slightly shaking the man in the process.
"I would think that much was obvious," he said, feeling relief flooding through his entire system as he did so. "However, in the future it would be wise to interrogate your visitors further before you let your guard down, especially if they were suddenly back from the dead. There are still Death Eaters on the loose after all," said the man in all seriousness. The woman hit him lightly.
"How could anyone else perfect that character of yours?" asked the woman with a slight humor in her tone then her expression turned serious. "I never truly believed that you had died. There was no body to be found," she continued. "But how…? Potter told me, told everyone what had happened!"
"It is a long story, Minerva, a story for another time. Let us just say that I was rescued by a young girl. At the moment, I have more pressing concerns. I must be able to return to my life, and I am in need of your help."
"Why I'd be glad to offer you what I can! I shall alert the rest of the staff the first thing in the morning as it is rather late now. I shall also inform the rest of the Order members about this ordeal."
"Thank you, Minerva. That would be of great help to me. I am forever in your debt."
"Don't be so formal with me, Severus! We've been colleagues for ages, but I do have one question. Why me? Of all the people…"
"You were the only one I trusted enough not to go hysterical at the sight of me," said Snape reasonably. The woman gave a soft chuckle. She had certainly missed the good old times.
"I can't believe Albus asked you to do that!" she said as their conversation turned into a sharing session between two people who had been through so much and still lived to remember the horrors.
At half past midnight, Snape bid the woman farewell and returned to his house. Upon his arrival, his first thought was to check on Cyrille. He silently opened the door to the girl's bedroom and peeked inside. She was sprawled on the bed sleeping peacefully while her blanket was all tangled up and was barely covering her body. Snape found himself tucking the girl in, and a small smile started playing on his lips. In the past, he would have been horrified by the thought of tucking someone into bed, but now he found it quite tolerable. He actually liked it if he were to be honest with himself. He took one last glance at his ward before he left for his own room.
Lying on his bed, he couldn't help but look back at the day's events. He felt the heaviness of his problems lift from his chest somehow at being able to talk to Minerva. Feeling somewhat peaceful, he drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Snape woke up later than usual but was surprised upon entering the kitchen. Breakfast had already been served, and Cyrille was sitting on one of the chairs patiently waiting for him to start.
He sat himself in his customary seat and spoke. "I thought I told you before that children shouldn't cook unsupervised?" he said with a hint of amusement.
"Well, you seemed tired and I didn't want to wake you. Besides, I'm fully capable of cooking simple meals."
"If I remember correctly, last time you burned your hand."
"That was your fault! You shouldn't have snuck up on me," said the girl defensively.
"It is not polite to blame other people for your own shortcomings," said the man. The girl glared at him before beginning to pile food on her plate, and Snape also did the same.
In the midst of eating, Snape suddenly spoke. "I've been doing some thinking and I believe it is time for you to get your own wand." The girl suddenly looked up with interest.
"My own wand?" Snape nodded.
"Wands are personalized objects. It would be most efficient if you had one yourself. Besides, I believe it is time to start teaching you basics. This will help you lessen any incidents of accidental magic."
"That would be so awesome!" said the girl. Snape rolled his eyes at the brat's choice of words.
"We'll leave in an hour so finish your breakfast and busy yourself for the time being." Cyrille nodded and beamed at her guardian. Snape found this amusing. Even if his ward was more mature than children her age, she still had it in her to act childish, and it was at times like this that her childish self began to surface.
One hour later, they were ready to leave for Diagon Alley. "I will be altering my looks for obvious reasons. Do not address me by my name. I think that for our purpose, 'sir' should suffice."
"Alright, Sir," said Cyrille, testing the feel of the word on her tongue. She figured she could do that. Severus gave her an approving nod.
"Now, hold on to my arm. You know what's going to happen next," said Snape. Cyrille looked horrified by the thought of Apparating but held on to his arm anyway. Together, they Apparated to Diagon Alley.
Upon their arrival, Cyrille fell off-balance but her guardian steadied her with one hand while his other hand clutched his wand tightly. She flashed him a grateful smile. "Shall we proceed?" asked Snape in a voice that was not his own. Cyrille nodded.
Snape led the way while the girl followed obligingly. After a couple of turns, they reached their destination. There was a signboard hanging in front of the shop that read "Ollivander's Wand Shop".
"Ollivander is the name of the wandmaker. He is one of the best in the world," said the man. Cyrille felt her nervousness bubbling up inside her as they entered the shop.
They were welcomed by an odd old man who seemed to be appraising them from the moment they entered. "Welcome, welcome," he said. "I am Ollivander. Come to get a wand for the young witch?" he asked. Snape affirmed with a nod.
"Yes, I would like for Cyrille to have her own wand," he said. The wandmaker gave him a crooked smile.
"Ah, but of course. Come, come. Do not be nervous, child. You are about to find your partner in life." Cyrille took a tentative step closer, but her determination was evident in her eyes.
Ollivander seemed deep in thought. He suddenly pulled a box from one of the lower shelves and freed the wand inside it. He handed it to the girl. "Eight and a half inches, ebony, unicorn hair. Give it a flick, girl." Cyrille obliged and several boxes shot out of the shelves and went straight through the glass window. Cyrille was horrified, but the man seemed to think that this was normal.
"Perhaps not," he said as he pulled another box. "Seven inches, holly, dragon heartstring." This time, when Cyrille tried the wand the remaining glass windows completely shattered. The girl frowned.
"Not to worry, child. Some people spend hours here before they find the right wand, although you have to be the first one to wreck my shop with just two tries," he paused and chuckled. "You must be patient. Understand that the wand chooses its master, not the other way around. You will understand when you've found yours."
They continued with the same process and after twelve tries, the entire shop had been in shambles but Cyrille had yet to find the right one. The girl was clearly frustrated.
"You are obviously a rather unusual subject," said the man. "Perhaps..." he took another box from the upper shelves hoping that it would finally be the one. "This one is special. Nine inches, fir, phoenix feather."
Snape, who had been sitting idly by the side felt slightly alarmed by the mention of phoenix core. A wielder of any wand with a phoenix feather core was definitely destined for greatness. But if it meant putting his ward in danger in the process, then he was willing to forego this. He waited nervously for the outcome.
Cyrille gave the wand a flick and at first, nothing happened. A split second later, tiny sparks started flickering from the wand. Ollivander smiled and said, "It seems like it has chosen you!" Cyrille shook her head.
"I don't know... It feels sort of... odd." The man gave her a calculating look. "The wand hasn't fully accepted you yet, but it is giving you a chance to wield it."
"Can we try something else?" asked the girl. The man sighed but nodded anyway.
"Since the phoenix responded to you, I suppose I should try the rare ones for you. This one," he said as he pulled a box from the topmost shelf, "has not chosen anyone in decades. I have given up any hopes of selling it. But maybe, just maybe it will choose you." He handed the wand to the girl, holding it like it were the most fragile thing in the world. "Nine and a half inches, yew, dragon heartstring."
The moment the girl's fingers curled up on the wand, she knew that it had to be the one. The wand warmed up to her and she smiled. She gave the wand a small flick and all the damage earlier was instantly fixed. The boxes were replaced into their respective shelves and the shattered glasses had reformed on the windows. Ollivander beamed at the child.
"I knew there was something about you! That will be eight Galleons," he said. Snape stood and paid the wandmaker.
"I'll be damned if another wizard walked out with a phoenix feather core wand," said Snape. Ollivander laughed and accepted the gold. Just then, he laid eyes on Snape's wand which had been in his hand from the moment they entered.
As they were about to leave, Ollivander spoke. "I remember every wand I've ever sold. It is good to have you back, Mr. Snape. It seems like you have found someone special," he said as he eyed Cyrille. "Have a good day." Snape nodded in return and walked out of the shop with his ward.
A/N: Okay, here's another chapter. I'm sorry if it always takes me SO long to update. Anyway, I'd just like to thank all the readers, especially those who review. Your reviews are ever so encouraging and they keep me going. So a BIG THANK YOU to everyone! :) Merry Christmas!