CHAPTER THREE:

A month had finally passed.

His school allowance was even LESS this year, if that was possible. He'd have to buy used books if he wanted another robe, much less any ink or quills or the like. Gods, what was his Father doing with the money he earns?

None of his business.

Sev smoothed out wrinkles from his tunic. Admittedly, Mother was very good at taking his Father's old clothes and altering them for him, but it was becoming pointless since he was shooting up like a weed. The uniform trousers Martis had bought him last Christmas were now several inches above his ankles.

But Mother merely extended the hems by sewing on strips from his First Year uniform. Did the same for the sleeves of his sweaters, too. Gods, why not just make him wear a pillow case or a bunch of tea-cozies like the house-elves? It would be more honest.

And it would not require purification rituals to get the 'funk' out of the converted Snape Senior clothes. Even his Father's old clothes felt creepy, as if they absorbed all the crap Father Snape had done.

Better than nothing at all, Sev supposed. Then that would really scare people. Perhaps even make Martis vomit.

In a few hours, he would be seeing her again. The thought filled him with undue elation and well-deserved guilt. At least a few hours' respite from his Father while the old bastard went down to Knockturn Alley for his own dark deeds. He really should not feel so happy about meeting with a girl, should he? But she was his best friend, a beacon of light in the darkness of his world.

Now, how to get rid of his Mother?

A knock came on the door and Sev went to open it. He knew it was his Mother. His Father never bothered to knock.

"Are you ready, Sev-darling?"

His Mother was still beautiful, despite everything she had been through - tall, slender, long dark hair pulled up into an elegant pile, her body wrapped up in an old-style violet cloak.

Too bad she was such a mouse.

"Yes, Mother. Let me get my list."

Sev folded up his equipment list for his Fourth Year and tucked it into his sleeve as his Mother looked around the room. "Where did all these paintings come from?"

"A friend," Sev answered, pulling his own cloak on.

"Looks like a wonderful place." She gently touched one of the paintings featuring bull leapers and an incredibly large bull they were swinging themselves over.

He nodded, adjusting the clasps. "It's Crete."

"One of my classmates was from Crete," she murmured as they left his room. "She and I got along quite well - we were both in Ravenclaw. People called us the Raven Twins ... she was dark and I was pale, and we both had dark hair. I haven't thought of her in ages. Tassos Vox, that was her name."

Sev said nothing. He knew Martis had a sister named Tassos (keeping track of Martis' siblings was beyond him, but he remembered the name from recent letters), and it was quite likely that his Mother had known a Vox sibling in her youth. Martis freely admitted that her eldest sister Xenia was old enough to be her mother.

Mother and son left the front entrance of the house and climbed into the carriage. The Master of the Snape household slammed the front doors shut behind him, pulling his gloves on in an irritated manner, and tapping the door to the carriage open with his cane. He entered the carriage, his nostrils flaring and his dark eyes threatening pain upon word.

"Not a word," he hissed. "From either of you, understand?"

Sev and his mother nodded, sitting across from him in the carriage. Sev lowered his head so his hair covered his face, not allowing the old man to see his eyes return the loathing with tinges of hate and fear blended together.

Just a few hours.

----------

Martis placed her equipment allowance in her orange money-purse with the gold spirals and scissors printed all over it.

Snips and Spirals, together again. Soon.

"Are we ready, yet?" Artemisia called impatiently.

"Yes!" Martis yelled as she selected a pair of sunglasses with spirals carved around the rims. "Coming!"

She trotted down the stone stairs of her family villa and joined the twins and Phaedra in the dining room in front of the large fireplace. Checking her hair, she made sure it was braided up into a single long braid, tucked into the back of her purple cloak.

"All right," Phaedra said as she flung a side of her cape over her shoulder. "We'll be appearing in the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron, so be very clear when you say 'Diagon Alley', all right?"

"Right," the twins and Martis answered.

"Who wants to go first?"

"I will," Adonia said. "Someone needs to scope the place out."

Adonia's green robe swirled behind her as she clutched a handful of Floo Powder from Phaedra's dish and entered the fireplace. "DIAGON ALLEY!"

She threw the powder to her feet and she vanished in green flames and a puff of smoke.

"Me, next!" Artemisia cried, performing the same motions. "DIAGON ALLEY!"

After she vanished, Phaedra offered the Floo Powder to Martis. "Your turn, baby sister."

Martis accepted the powder and stepped onto the grate. "DIAGON ALLEY!"

Martis felt the warmth of the Floo Powder slam her body through time and space, at last making her tumble arse-over-teakettle out of the large fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron.

"That always scares the Avernus out of me!" she muttered as she got up.

"Any more Amazon children coming out?" someone in the pub asked.

"One more," Adonia replied. Phaedra appeared in a puff of soot-dust, stepping elegantly out of the fireplace.

Martis looked around, seeing the wizards and witches of the modern world mingling together. She scanned the crowd, looking for Sev, and wondered if her timing had been off. She knew she checked the time-zone calculations several times.

"We're going on shopping," Phaedra said. "You and Snape can join us when he gets here."

"Unless you have other things planned," Adonia teased.

Martis raspberried her sisters. "That's you, not me."

"Granted," Adonia admitted. "I think a round would do him a world of good."

"Oh, shut up and go already!"

The twins giggled hysterically as they left the pub. Martis sat at a table and waited.

There -

She felt her heart stop. Sev's father led the way in, followed by his mother, then himself.

His father was even worse than she imagined. True, Sev had gotten his looks from his father - longish greasy dark hair, hooked nose, stiff upper-lip, long thin limbs and body, and perpetual scowl when angry. Which looked like he was all the time.

And a darkness around him that - instead of reflecting light back - sucked in light and devoured it, making everything around him dim in response so that he was in a constant shadow.

Sev's mother had a fragile beauty about her, which would have suited any other normal aristocratic wife, but looked wildly out-of-place next to her dark husband. She had gorgeous liquid black eyes - the same as Sev's, in fact. And a paleness that made her etheral.

Sev himself had indeed grown several inches over the summer, just as he wrote, which made his large hands and feet look even sillier on his thin frame. He still reminded her of a half-grown puppy.

Their eyes met, despite the curtain of hair across his face. Martis got up, but he discreetly raised his hand to halt her. She glanced at his parents, his father moving quickly across the pub and out the door, while his mother lingered at the bar.

Unable to take it, Martis bounded across the room and wrapped Sev up in a tight hug. "SNIPS!"

Sev hugged her back as tightly. "Oh, Gods, it's so good to see you again," he breathed.

She kissed his cheek, not caring how many adults cleared their throats in the vicinity. "I was so afraid you wouldn't be able to make it!"

"Same here," he replied. He hugged her again. "You smell like soot."

"Traveled by Floo." She brushed hair out of his face. "I missed you so much - "

He smiled slightly. "It was a nightmare. But we have a few hours - "

"Excuse me," a quiet, feminine voice said. "Sevvie, would you introduce your friend to me?"

Sev's face flushed as he looked up at his mother. Actually, met at eye-level, as they were both now the same height. His smile faded and his hair fell back in his face as he released Martis. "Mother, my friend Spirals from school. Spirals, my mother Tenebria Snape."

Martis forcefully stuck her hand out, her sunglasses hiding most of the glare. "Pleased to meet you at last, Mrs. Snape," she intoned in a heavy voice.

"Spirals, please," Sev whispered.

Sev's mother shook the girl's hand. "Sevvie's told me about you."

Martis' polite smile turned up into a teeth-baring snarl. "Really? Has he also informed you that I know how to use a double-axe against people who hurt him?"

"Spirals!" Sev snapped.

His mother turned to him, her eyes wide in panic. "Oh, Severus, you didn't - "

"It's hard to hid the bruises, Mother," he said quietly. He turned back to his glaring best friend. "Spirals, please, she's more defenseless than I am."

"No excuse," Martis spat, leaning close to the older woman. "In my homeland, the women know how to fight back. Protection of babies beyond anything else. Anyone who strikes a defenseless child is hunted down and killed like a rabid dog." The glare was slightly muted by the glasses, but it could be felt within several feet. "You should be lucky that he has me to protect him as school or else - "

"Spirals, that's enough," Sev stated as he grabbed her arm. "Let's go."

Martis snorted. "My apologies for scaring you, Mrs. Snape. But please note that somebody gives a damn about your son's welfare. Good day."

She allowed Sev to drag her out into the courtyard. He tapped out the pattern on the bricks with his wand and the entry to Diagon Alley appeared.

"Your mother is the most cowardly woman I ever met!" Martis ranted. "At least mine doesn't bother with me at all."

Sev pulled her through, allowing them to blend into the busy street. "Forget about it, Martis. I want to forget about my family for a little while. Please."

"All right." She smiled again and pulled her hair out of the braid, allowing it to fall freely down to her knees. Soot sprinkled down to the street. "Where shall we go first, Snips?"

"Bookstore," he said. "I need to find some used Fourth-Year books."

"Used?" she repeated. "Your cinchy father?"

"Who else?" They entered Flourish and Blotts. "Textbooks are always so expensive, even when used. I hope I have enough leftover for a new robe."

She giggled, pressing against his back. "Yep, you need a new one, now I only come up to your ears. You're becoming a giant."

"I am not," he protested. "Please, get off me."

She pouted. "Waah, Snips doesn't love me anymore! You used to take me out all the time!"

He stared at her in horror, then saw the grin threatening to split her face open. He giggled a little, then both broke into laughter.

"Where did that come from??" he snickered.

"An old joke," she giggled. "Commonly said by Muggle wives. Come on, let's find our books."

----------

An hour later, both had gotten more ink and a few quills, then they made their way to Ollivander's Wands.

"Since three-eighty-two, B.C." Martis opened the door to the wand shop. "I wonder if it's been the same Mr. Ollivander or he's merely the grandson of the original?"

Sev giggled. "One never asks."

The proprietor himself appeared. "Mr. Snape!" he said. "And Miss Vox. Didn't expect to see you two here. Both lost your wands at once?"

"No," Martis said. "I just wanted to thank you for helping me pick my wand last year. It's absolutely wonderful."

"Ah, yes, the oak with the dragon heartstring, exactly ten inches. Yes, a very Earthy wand. I felt it was suitable considering your magical background and family. Most all the Vox's do well with oak or mahogany. I am so glad it worked out for you." He turned to Sev. "And Mr. Snape - an ebony with dragon heartstring, ten-and-a-half inches long. How is yours working out?"

"Quite well, sir," Sev answered. "Too well at times."

The old man nodded, an eyebrow raised. "I suppose that must be acceptable. Anything else I may do for you?"

Martis dug in her cloak and placed a package on the counter. "Here's some baklava I made by hand. No magic involved. At least this batch didn't turn out as granola."

"Why, thank-you, Miss Vox." He unwrapped the package and inhaled the scents of honey and spices. He glanced down at them. "So, I shall expect to see your children in here in fifteen years or so?"

Sev blushed while Martis grinned. "Who knows?" she replied. "Thanks again, Mr. Ollivander."

Both left the wand shop and headed toward the robe shop.

"What did he mean 'your children'?" he asked. "He was referring to us, right?"

"Either of us," she answered. "I know I'm going to have children. If you do or not, that's up to you - although, I warn you, it's very painful to give birth."

Sev laughed. "That would be a ... hoot." He entered the robe shop behind her.

"Hey, baby sister!" Artemisia called. She was being fitted for a robe while Phaedra was going through the racks and Adonia was somewhere else in the shop. "I see you found Snape. How you doing, Severus? Ready for school yet?"

"Practically," he answered.

"Just need to find him a nice but cheap robe," Martis answered.

The bell to the shop rang and Lucius Malfoy entered. "Oh, dear, dear," he commented. "Seems they let the shop go downhill by allowing all of you in."

Martis rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. "Good afternoon, Lucy, did you escape your keeper?"

He snorted, stepping up on the stool next to Artemisia as a shop assistant began to fit him for robes. "Hardly. Merely doing my own school shopping. I left my assistants Crabbe and Goyle outside, so they are probably raiding the sweets shop as we speak."

Phaedra made a rude noise involving her tongue. "Great Mother, Malfoy, why do you have Tweedledum and Tweedledork nipping at your heels all the time? For a devious mastermind, you pick the stupidest henchmen."

Martis and Sev covered their mouths to keep the laughter in. Lucius once stuck his foot down his gullet by calling Phaedra a 'mudblooded-barbarian' (not knowing her family line at the time) and got his perfect butt handed to him by herself, Kyros, and Klemendis.

"That is none of your concern, Miss Phaedra," he answered. He turned to find Artemisia staring at him. "What are you looking at?"

Artemisia poked his shoulder a couple of times, then turned to Adonia. "Hey, Doni, what do you think of pretty-boy here? An eight?"

Adonia poked her head out from a robe. "Nah, a five. He reeks of plastics."

Lucius Malfoy was quite certain they were insulting him, although he was not sure what 'plastics' implied. "Don't you two have some pornographic photography to pose for or something?"

"Make it a four," Artemisia stated. "Good looking and delicious on the outside, but has a large staff up his - "

Martis and Sev broke into hard laughter before Artemisia could finish.

Lucius merely finished his measuring, then left the shop.

Sev's turn. He stepped up on the stool and Madame Malkin began measuring. Eyeing his altered clothes carefully, she coolly asked, "Perhaps we can get you a longer robe this year, taking up the hems for now and you can take them down as the year progresses?"

"Yes, thank you. A used one?"

She shook her head. "I don't sell used, but I have a new one discounted because of the problem of being too long. Will you also need the under-uniform?"

"No," he answered.

She bit her lip and slipped the robe on him, leaning down to start tacking.

Martis waited for her turn, going through the rack of uniform skirts, pleated and all in gray. Something longer. She grew this summer, as well, and it seems the only thing that got longer were her legs.

Not to mention her Moon Time started at last.

She looked up at Sev standing still as the witch worked on his hems. Ollivander's comment about 'their children' coming to buy wands from him bothered her more than she let on. It implied things she did not want to think about.

For one thing, it meant having actual contact with Sev's parents. She could probably stand his mother if the lady grew a backbone, but that did not seem likely. And his father's darkness radiated off him and made the very air around him unclean. Nothing she wanted her own children around.

For another, it meant ...

Nothing. She pushed it out of her mind. She was only twelve. Nothing to worry about at this time.

She pulled out another package of baklava and nibbled a bit at the honey, pastry, and nuts. She made a face. "Too much clove."