Chapter Nineteen
The Necklace
I drew my chair closer to Snape's desk, and looked down at the parchment. It was a letter dated many years ago, in the year of my birth, when I was two months old. Mum had written to Snape about the Ministry work my father was doing and how it had been a difficult few months of adjusting to having me in the family. The letter seemed restrained, even when Adia had written to her brother about herself. It was further down where I saw a sketch of the necklace that my mother had drawn carefully. Beside it thanked Snape for the necklace that was to celebrate my birth.
"You made it?" Snape nodded, his eyes fixed to the parchment like mine were. I read on about how mum wanted to go back to work once I was old enough and I soon saw that Kerry was right. Mum was cautiously asking about whom would look after me should anything happen to both parent and that my father had been outraged at her suggestion that Snape should be given the responsibility. He was still holding a severe grudge.
"Who did they choose in the end?" I asked. Snape sat up slightly.
"They chose the person who looked after you while they worked. Your mother got it changed before you came to Hogwarts though. If the papers are still valid and Cassius didn't find and burn them, it should still be me." My reaction was similar if not identical to when he answered my question about maiden names outside the great hall.
"All this talk about what should happen if mum dies isn't good for concentrating on her recovery." I said, putting my hands onto the desk and swallowing back fear. Snape looked at me in a way that told my soul that he felt less positively than I did. I placed a hand on his that held the necklace.
"I hope I don't hold grudges like my father." I told Snape; hardly noticing we were looking into each other's eyes. Snape flinched away, clutching his arm. He left the necklace on the desk, and I remembered Malfoy's interest.
"Err… Severus?" I asked tentatively. Snape looked back at me, expression pained.
"Is there anything I can do?" I asked, pointing to his arm.
"No. Until Voldermort is defeated, there's nothing that stops it." Snape told me through gritted teeth. For the following hour, I read more and more recent letters from my mother, but when I was about two years, things changed quite dramatically. Mum went into undercover ministry work with dad as Snape explained. She couldn't write as often as her owls could be intercepted. It wasn't until I spoke with Kerry that I remembered it was meant to be a detention.
Next morning at breakfast, we listened to McGonagall and Moody talk to Snape in the same way as at lunchtime on Saturday after the Quidditch and my fight with Lysander.
"I had her pickling fresh specimens by hand." Snape told them, a straight lie.
"For how long?" Moody asked.
"An hour." That part at least was true. Moody seemed to doubt Snape and then he seemed to dismiss it.
"And what about Lysander, will you allow me to deal with my house there too?" Snape asked, his eyes glinting dangerously.
"Actually, Mr Lysander and Miss Amethyst should have detention together tonight. We trust you can handle them both?" Snape's face seemed to twitch at the suggestion. He was trying to think of a way out by the look.
"Argus surely has time to occupy Lysander, I am making good use of Amethyst's detentions with her potions skills. Mr Lysander has less than satisfactory skills."
"Isn't that-." McGonagall started.
"Not useful for any of us apart from Lysander perhaps. Argus will have to deal with him." McGonagall looked sour. She and Moody obviously felt something was wrong, and Dumbledore interrupted the conversation again.
"Severus, have you any pressing engagements straight after breakfast?" Snape broke his glare and looked at the headmaster.
"No headmaster, I was planning on marking some third year homework but…" He trailed off and nodded. I kept watching, confused at what was going on, but I glanced away when I saw Dumbledore looking towards the Slytherin table.