Hello everybody. This chapter is an experiment. I had a new idea and wanted to try it out. I hope you'll like it. And thanks for all the reviews. I think I answered most of them, but then I inadvertently deleted half of my inbox, so…
The usual disclaimers apply.
Chapter 25
Spinner's End, 8th January, 2007
Dear Nat,
Where were you with your thoughts when you were packing for school? I know you made a list of all the items you wanted to put into your trunk, I found it in your bedroom, but wouldn't it have made sense to tick the ones you had already packed? As it is you left all your jumpers behind, most of your quills and your potions textbook. Severus brought it over today, you forgot it in his kitchen when you visited him on the day I was called in to work because of the terrible accident on the motorway. I was a bit reluctant to send so bulky a parcel by owl, I mean, the poor bird, I still can't imagine how they manage to carry such heavy burdens, but Severus said I shouldn't worry, they were doing it all the time. So here you are. I hope you'll get the book before your first potions lesson, otherwise, if you get into trouble it should teach you not to forget your things next time.
Severus sends his regards and wants me to remind you not to act in such a foolish, Gryffindor way – whatever that means; he refused to elaborate, just said it was something you two Slytherins had discussed and that there were things mothers needn't know about. Well, I disagree, but, alas, I guess that won't make you two change your mind.
So, anyway, have a good start and write soon.
Love
Mum
Hogwarts, 12 January 2007
Hi Mum,
Thanks for the parcel, I was really cold here without the jumpers (there are warming charms but we haven't learned them yet) and I got the book in time for my first potions lesson today. We made the Cooling Draught for minor burns and sunburn, the one Severus let me assist him with in the holidays. So naturally my potion was perfect and I got top marks for it and ten points for my house. I also managed to levitate my desk in Charms today. Professor Flitwick said it was very advanced work for a first year and awarded me another fifteen points for Slytherin. Twenty-five points in one day! Cool, isn't it? Slytherin is well ahead of the other houses now. Everybody says we have a good chance of coming first this year. And I'm so proud if it will be a little bit because of me.
It could have been a perfect day, but then we had flying lessons in the afternoon and that was awful. It was freezing outside in the grounds; although I was wearing gloves my fingers got so cold and numb I could hardly hold the broomstick. I'm still not comfortable on the broom and somehow I can't make the stupid thing go where I want it to. I really hate this. I feel so clumsy and stupid. You should see the others fly, it looks so easy! Some are really good. Duncan Wright wants to try for seeker in our Quidditch team next year, he's such a great flyer and very popular. If only I could fly like him!
Love
Nat
Spinner's End, 29th January, 2007
Dear Nat,
Congratulations on your good school work. I'm really, really proud of my son. And don't worry about the flying lessons. You can blame it on your genes, I'm afraid, I have never been good at sports. And anyway, you can't be top of your class at everything. I'm sure that winning house points makes you popular, too.
Your Dad phoned today and told me he wanted to take you to Italy during the Easter holidays. I said it was OK by me, but I didn't know if you would have time, perhaps you would be set some homework over the holidays and the best thing would be to ask you directly. When I told him he couldn't phone, but would have to write a letter and send it by owl post he became very quiet for a moment and I could almost hear him seethe and half expected him to explode and slam down the phone, but he only said 'I see' in a very strained kind of voice and changed the topic. I wonder if he'll write.
Love
Mum
Spinner's End, 1st February, 2007
Dear Nathan,
Your mother told me about your Cooling Solution and your success with the levitation charm. Well done. You seem to possess extraordinary magic if you are able to perform so strong a levitation charm right at the beginning of your magical education.
I'm sure you'll do the heartburn potion in one of your next lessons. If I am not mistaken the instructions are on page 43 in your textbook . I noticed you're still using the edition we had before the war. Read the list of ingredients carefully and write back to tell me your opinion about it.
About the other issue we discussed – I hope you have been able to practice some self-restrained so far. Don't let people taunt you. Don't feel obliged to defend my character or my honour or whatever. I can only repeat that I absolutely don't want you to get into trouble because of me! You told me the Sorting Hat had not been sure where to put you, in Slytherin or in Gryffindor, and obviously you have too many Gryffindor traits for your own good. Showing courage and chivalry and a sense of justice is all very well, but more often it is more advisable not to speak one's mind openly, but to resort to subtler methods. Always remember that.
Yours
Severus
Hogwarts, 3 February 2007
Dear Severus,
What about the 'ground nits'? This ingredient doesn't make sense, does it? Is it an error, should it be 'ground nuts'?
Nat
Spinner's End, 4th February, 2007
Dear Nathan,
Yes, well done, it should be 'ground nuts' indeed. I wonder how Professor Anguin will deal with the error. When I was teaching the subject I used to keep quiet about it and waited if students would notice the mistake. In most classes they didn't and in consequence produced a harmless, but extremely foul-smelling, sticky concoction. This thoughtlessness was usually rewarded with a long essay about the necessity of using one's brain when following instructions, which, together with having to get rid of the sticky mass in their cauldrons and spending the rest of the lesson breathing the foul air they had produced, worked wonders in teaching students to pay attention.
Yours
Severus
Hogwarts, 12 February 2007
Oh, Severus, honestly!
So that's one of the reasons why all the people say you were the most unpopular teacher at Hogwarts! Why didn't you ever think of writing to the publishers and tell them to correct the mistake? Professor Anguin wants to do so. She didn't follow your example in the lesson either. She discussed the list of ingredients with us and Lucy Abbott spotted the mistake, too. Both of us raised our hands, but Professor Anguin asked Lucy, so this time it was ten points for Hufflepuff. Actually, Lucy deserves it, she is very good at potions and Professor Anguin always goes on about how unusual that is for a Hufflepuff. I think this is stupid, I mean, who said that all Hufflepuffs have to be a bit slow and dim-witted? Lucy certainly isn't, she's good at all subjects, and she's good on a broomstick as well.
I'm trying to follow your advice and I think I've been doing quite well so far. Yesterday, when Drusilla Cooper said something about you always being on Voldemort's side to her friends before Transfiguration I pretended not to have heard. Later I left my copy of 'Hogwarts – A History' open on the common room table next to her favourite armchair where she was bound to find it. I had also marked the passage with red ink. Was that a subtle method?
Love
Nathan
Spinner's End, 20th February, 2007
Dear Nathan,
What you did with the book was a subtle method indeed. Keep up following your Slytherin side. Talking of which, I agree that it isn't appropriate to put too much emphasis on the traits of character attributed to the four houses of Hogwarts, it may discourage students from studying subjects which are not deemed typical of their house; however, the division into houses is one of the hallowed Hogwarts traditions and, although there was much talk about how fighting against the Dark Lord had helped abolishing house rivalries, they kept it up after the war. There is always a number of students who fit the mould and turn out to be typical Gryffindors or Ravenclaws etc., but there are many more, like you, whose characters and skills are so complex that it is hard to allocate them to a particular house. As to the rivalry between houses – it may be an incentive for students to study, but it may also hinder the development of a community spirit in the school as a whole and shouldn't be taken too seriously any longer.
Yours
Severus
Hogwarts, 10 March 2007
Hi Mum,
I've got a letter from dad today asking me about the holidays, so he must have overcome his shock about the owls. I wonder how he got hold of one. Did you tell him about the special counter in the Muggle post office where you can send ordinary Muggle letters by owl post? I don't know what I shall answer him, though. I would like to go to Italy, of course, but most of my friends are staying at Hogwarts over the holidays and I would like to stay here, too. I would have time to practice flying. Guess what? I'm getting better, and the weather is warmer now, too, so flying is more fun. I managed to ride my broomstick all around the lake today and I landed smoothly in exactly the right spot, without falling off. Great, isn't it? I think I'd like to have my own broomstick for Christmas. Do you think dad will be sad if I tell him I'd rather not go away for the holidays?
Love
Nat
Spinner's End, 15th March 2007
Dear Nat,
It's your decision and your dad will have to accept it. He can take you on that trip in the summer holidays, we'll only be visiting granddad for two weeks I think, so there will be plenty of time for you to go to Italy as well. I'm glad that you start enjoying riding on a broomstick. Severus told me that it is still considered to be the most important means of transportation in the wizarding world, so, apart from being able to play quidditch it is also useful in everyday life. He also admitted that he'd had difficulties riding a broom at first – and his mother is a witch. As to that broomstick for Christmas, well, we'll see. Severus told me they can be pretty expensive. Why don't you shock your dad again and tell him that you can ride well now and need your own broomstick?
So, stay at Hogwarts, practice, but don't take risks, please; it wouldn't be a good idea if you fell off and landed yourself in hospital. I'll send you your Easter egg.
Love
Mum
Hogwarts, 30 March 2007
Dear Severus,
Big news: Our herbology lessons are no longer in the greenhouse, but in a ground floor classroom off the entrance hall. Professor Sprout has to bring in large pots with the plants she wants to show us. It's good that she has an assistant now, Mr Longbottom, who can help her. The greenhouses are out of bounds for students now, they are surrounded by scaffolding and they have started doing some work on them. Professor Sprout said that they hadn't been thoroughly repaired after the war and that many of the glass panes still have cracks or are missing altogether, which is bad for the plants because there are draughts and it is impossible to keep the temperature right. She also mentioned that this was just the beginning of building work around the castle and that it was all for the big event next year. But she wouldn't say which event, although she seemed to be very excited about it. Do you know anything?
Love
Nat
Spinner's End, 4 April 2007
Dear Nat,
Happy Easter. I hope you'll like your egg and enjoy your free time with your friends. The weather forecast is good for the weekend, so Severus and I have decided to go on a trip to the Peak District, enjoy the countryside and fresh air and have a picknick or two. He rather likes going by car and even considers taking lessons and getting a driving license himself. I hope you're having nice weather, too, so that you can practice riding the broomstick. Your dad told me you had agreed on going to Italy with him right at the beginning of the summer holidays. That's fine, we'll go down to Portreath when you come back.
Severus sends his regards and wants me to tell you that he regrets to say that he doesn't know what Professor Sprout is referring to. Obviously, once again, there is no need for me to know what that means. Hmmm. Why do I feel excluded?
Love
Mum
Spinner's End, 10 April 2007
Dear Nat,
I'm back home. But not from the Peak District, no, we didn't go there at all, I'm back from St. Mungo's. Severus had a breakdown on Friday afternoon. Obviously he'd had health problems for weeks and didn't tell anyone, but tried to cure them with his potions. He collapsed in his kitchen when we were unloading the car after the weekly shopping trip. He had chest pains and difficulties breathing but kept telling me that he was fine and would only need some rest and a potion and wouldn't let me call an ambulance until I got really angry. Then he relented and after several failed attempts – he could barely hold his wand – he managed to call the wizarding ambulance. Almost immediately a man and a woman in lime green uniforms appeared out of thin air in his backyard, examined him and decided that his condition was serious and that they had to take him to hospital. We insisted that I'd come with them and we all used Severus's fireplace to floo to the hospital. Another one of those quick, but uncomfortable means of magical transportation. I almost choked on the ash. They took him to his old ward and then it was the usual bustle until they had him stabilised. The healer was very angry with him, he told me they had sent Severus several invitations for check-ups, but he never bothered to answer them and never turned up. Stupid, pigheaded man. (Severus, of course, not the healer.) Obviously there is still some residue of Dark Magic in his body, which has got the upper hand, and he has to undergo another round of treatment, which means another prolonged stay on the ward in virtual isolation. God, he looked so utterly hopeless and defeated. Fortunately they remembered me and agreed to letting me visit him, the arrangements have already been made (portkeys), and I think Severus would like to stay in touch with you and hear about Hogwarts, so don't stop writing letters even if he won't be able to answer them for a few weeks.
For the way back home they gave me one of those portkeys, an old trainer. I had to touch it and suddenly it started to glow in a bluish light and catapulted me directly onto our patio, where I knocked my head on the window sill. This really makes me look forward to these trips to St. Mungo's.
Love
Mum
St. Mungo's, 30th June, 2007
Dear Nathan,
Thank you very much for your letters. I wasn't physically able to answer them, even now you'll find my handwriting barely legible in places, although my condition has improved greatly and there is the chance that they will let me go soon. They are quite confident that this time the treatment has been successful in getting rid of all the Dark Magic and I hope they are right. They won't be sad to see the last of me. The sentiment is mutual, by the way.
Nathan, I very much appreciate your concern and that of your mother, your letters and her visits have helped me immensely during those long weeks of being locked in this room, confined to my bed. From what you mentioned in your letters Hogwarts seems to resemble a building site. It is hard to imagine that they left so much undone or in makeshift condition after the war. It sounds as if the castle were barely fit for human habitation. Knowing Professor McGonagall I find it impossible to believe that she should have been content running a school for eight years with the premises in such a dilapidated state. There must be some extraordinary reason for all the building and renovation activities. I take it that you still haven't been told what it is all about? Very mysterious indeed. There is definitely something going on. Even here, in my miserable isolation I couldn't help noticing some excitement among the staff and overhearing the occasional remark about an oncoming big event. But as far as concrete information is concerned you and I are in similar situations, they consider neither pupils nor patients worthy of receiving any.
Yours
Severus
Hi Severus,
Greetings from Rome. We've been here for two days. The city is great. I like the old Roman buildings and ruins. Dad is very much into art. We've already been to three museums and about 200 churches. The good thing about them: It's cool inside.
Nat
Hi Severus,
Have you ever tried surfing? It's great. I've had three surfing lessons this week and it's even better than riding a broomstick. The weather is not so good in Cornwall, but it doesn't matter, you have to wear a wetsuit anyway. Mum doesn't do any surfing, she prefers taking granddad's dog for long walks along the cliffs. We hope you'll be well soon so that we can take you home when we return to Manchester.
Nat and Lisa
Hogwarts, 2 September 2007
Hi Mum,
I know it! I know what all the building and painting is about! Professor McGonagall told us in her welcoming speech yesterday and she said that we could inform our families now, although the official invitations wouldn't be sent out before Christmas. Guess what? They're having a big celebration for the 10th anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. It will be an open day and all the parents will be invited. It's going to be in May and they're doing the OWLs and NEWTS after the Easter holidays so that everybody can enjoy the festivities. And the summer holidays will start a few days earlier. How cool is that? The Minister for Magic is going to be there and Harry Potter and all the other famous people. I'm sure Severus will be invited, too, he's kind of a war hero, isn't he? Then we can show you the classrooms and the common room and the dormitories and the grounds and you'll meet all the teachers and all my friends. Wicked! I can't wait to show you everything.
Love
Nat
Spinner's End, 15 September 2007
Dear Nat,
Severus got a letter from the Minister for Magic today. Obviously they're asking the celebrities to save the date before sending out the invitations, want to have enough of them present for the dinner and the ball. However, Severus is not very enthusiastic about the festivities, oh no, he thinks the whole thing is a waste of time and money and considers ignoring the invitation altogether. But then, that's just like him, isn't it? And he's still not quite well, the idea of him dancing is ludicrous, he can barely walk for ten minutes without having to rest. But I'm sure he'll come round eventually when his health improves. I'll do my best to encourage and convince him. I certainly am looking forward to seeing Hogwarts and being shown everything by my son and my friend.
However, Nat, don't forget that despite the celebrations there are lessons and homework to do this year. So don't forget to concentrate on that as well. Severus thinks so too, by the way.
Love
Mum
London, December 29th, 2007
Dear Mr Snape,
On behalf of the Minister for Magic of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland it is my pleasure and privilege to invite you and your partner to the Grand Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Victory of the Light. The function is being held on 2nd May 2008 at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Programme details are enclosed.
Please confirm your participation as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Ambrosius Finnegan
Senior Undersecretary
Hogwarts, December 29th, 2007
Dear Mrs McGregor,
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry invites all parents and relatives to its Open Doors Day on 2nd May 2008. Come and see Hogwarts in all its splendor after months of renovation. Visit the grounds and the castle, watch inter-house quidditch matches and presentations of students' work. This function is part of the Grand Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Victory of the Light.
Programme details are enclosed.
Please confirm your participation as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Pomona Sprout
Deputy Headmistress