A/N: thanks for the reviews! Yay! Here I am with another update! Go me! Ahaha… okay, okay… listening to music (mainly Franz Ferdinand and Asian Kung-Fu Generation…), in a great mood to write!
Breanna Senese: yay! You're not disappointed! Go me! Ahaha… okay… did I plan for the box to be Slytherin colors… yes… I was originally was going to have the colors red and gold, but I thought that Bella need to get into his good side… but her choice of clothing will surly make up for the colors of the gift box… ha-ha… thanks for the review! May you review some more!
Whisperkey: thanks! Yes, Bella is a bit perky… no she is not perfect. Trust me…absent minded… most likely… but yes, Bella was meant to be perky. She is the anti-Snape! Well, thanks for the review!
Oh… and SORRY for all grammar and spelling mistakes! And the song has nothing to do with this chapter or story… just love the song!
Summary: End Sixth year to Seventh year. Severus Snape's sister dies and he inherits something he never wanted, but slowly and surly will grow on him. With the war starting, is it possible for him to keep the things he cares for safe?
Disclaimer: I'm not married, I have no kids, I'm not British, and I am so not a genius. So in conclusion, I do not own Harry Potter. And if anything seems familiar to you, then I don't own it! I do own the plot and any OC characters!
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That's it, sir
You're leaving
The crackle of pigskin
The dust and the screaming
The yuppies networking
The panic, the vomit
The panic, the vomit
God loves his children, God loves his children, yeah!
-Paranoid Android, Radiohead
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Thicker than Water
By: LalathePanda
Chapter Two: Across the Pond
Severus walked into the sitting area when he heard his niece floo in. He did a quick cleaning spell to clean off the soot. "Good evening." He greeted as Bella got off the ground.
"Hello, Uncle!" Bella replied brightly. "I got you something while I was shopping." She held out the green box with the silver bow. "You can open it later."
"That I will." Said Severus as he placed the box on the couch. "Shall we go? I had the hotel call the muggle taxi cab which is driven by a wizard."
Bell smiled; her uncle wasn't that cold as she remembered from her first impression of him at the reading of the will. "Yeah. So where are we heading?"
"There is a small wizard town outside of this city. I was told it is half an hour away."
"Oh! I've been there before!" exclaimed Bella as they walked out into the hall. "Are we eating at the one restaurant, Rosa Verde?"
"Yes." Answered Severus. Severus turned to his niece and noticed her choice of colors for her outfit. He turned the other way so she wouldn't see the scowl on his face.
Bella was at awed as they walked down to the lobby. Rosa Verde was a fancy, cool, and most expensive Italian wizard restaurant in the state! Bella, luckily, was not underdressed. She wore a strapless scarlet red dress that fell to her knees and had a golden ribbon tied at the waist and formed a bow on her left hip. Bella wore a pair of golden strappy heels and a golden evening clutch purse. As for jewelry, she wore a matching set of gold and ruby earrings and bracelet that had once belong to her mother.
She glanced at her uncle as the two waited in the lobby for the taxi. He wore a simple black and dark green evening robe. The two stood in discomfited silence until the taxi pulled up in front of the hotel. And as expected, the ride was very silent and awkward too.
After a long and agonizing drive for the both of them, they pulled up in front of a very elegant yet modern restaurant, the Rosa Verde. Severus paid the driver and got out of the cab, also completely forgetting to act like a gentleman and help his niece out of the car. But he did make up for it by holding the door out for her.
"Ciao, abbiamo prenotaziono per due ad otto trenta." Said Severus was the approached the hostess.
"You speak Italian?" Bella asked out loud. Severus ignored her.
"Si, nome?" said the Hostess.
"Snape." Replied Severus.
"Radrizzi questo senso, signore." The Hostess said after flipping through the charmed book. She led them to a table near the windows and left two menus.
"You didn't answer my question." Said Bella as she opened her menu.
"What question?" Severus asked as he looked through the different meals.
"You speak Italian." Bella repeated what she said earlier.
"Of course I speak Italian, didn't you hear me talk back there?" Bella had no clue whether he was being sarcastic or just being blunt. Bella said nothing for a while. When the waiter came they ordered their food and drinks and sat in silence again while waiting for their food until Bella broke it.
"You said you wanted us to have dinner so we can talk." Bella played around with her glass of water.
"Well, yes. I did say that." Said Severus. "I figured after finding about all those things you might have some questions."
"Oh." Bella sank into her seat a bit. "Um, how was my mother like? You know, when you knew her? Can you tell me things about her?"
"Your mother, Belinda, was very kind, even though she was sorted into the meanest house in Hogwarts, the school we attended and where I teach. She was very much like your grandmother." Severus looked up at Bella. "You remind me of your mother and you look just your grandmother."
"Thanks." Said Bella slightly embarrassed. Her face turned pink for a moment. She felt honored to be compared to her late mother. "What was she like in school?"
"Oh, I wouldn't know that. When I started Hogwarts she just graduated, Head Girl too." Severus looked out her window. "Her favorite subject was Potions." He added a bit softly.
"Potions? Really? I hate potions." Bella commented, forgetting that her uncle taught potions. When she realized what she said she covered her mouth. "Opps! I'm sorry!"
Severus glared at her before softening his look. "You're not the first to say that."
"Oh…" Bella took a sip from her water. "Did you know my dad?"
"I never met him." Severus replied a bit harshly. Bella noticed his tone and decided not to mention her father to him that night unless need.
Bella deiced to change the topic. "How's England?"
"Dreadful." Answered Severus. "With the war boiling. It's not the safest place in the world with the Dark Lord. But Hogwarts is safe as long as it is under its current Headmaster's control."
Bella had heard about this so-called Dark Lord. But as she lived in America and this was going on across the pond, she never had to worry about this powerful wizard, nor did any other American. "So it is true? What I read in the papers here, that that guy is back?" Severus nodded. "Is he really that dangerous?"
Severus was quite aware that most places in the world didn't bother worrying about 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'. Only surrounding countries had some level of fear. He hated the fact that now Bella was going to be trusted into the middle of this war. "He is powerful if he gains anymore power than you Americans will start to fear him too."
Then something clicked in her mind. "Doesn't that one kid that defeated him when he was just a baby go to Hogwarts?"
"Yes, he does attend Hogwarts. He would be starting his final year." Severus wasn't able to hide to look on his face of contempt when he talked about 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'. Bella oddly didn't notice the look on his face.
"Wow! Really? That's so cool! I want to meet him!" Said Bella excitedly. "I've read stories about him in 'American Witch' magazine! He sounds amazing!"
Severus choked on his water. "Excuse me?"
"I think he is cool." Bella replied. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" She asked as she saw her uncle's face pale a bit.
"No, I'm fine." He replied just as the food arrived. While they ate, Severus explained to her Hogwarts, the Houses. He also told her about her being sorted and that he expected her to get into Slytherin. Sadly this just put more weight on Bella's shoulders. After dinner they went back to his hotel room. When Bella left for her house via Floo network, Severus sat on the couch and looked at the gift box.
He untied the ribbon and lifted the lid. It was a book. In fact a special deluxe edition potion book, a book that he already had.
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"Phoebe! Help!" cried Bella as she tried to close her trunk. It was the afternoon before the day she would leave America and head over to the other side of the pond. Bella was focused on packing all her things. The house it's self was going to be habited by Phoebe and her older sister. They had packed anything that had any value or sentimental meaning in the boxes she would take to her to England the other day. Everything else was put storage to make room for Phoebe and her sister Desiree, except the furniture, so the two sisters could use them.
Phoebe came into Bella's room and laughed. Bella was standing on her trunk trying to close it. You could see her clothes sticking out and it was obvious she need another trunk to fit everything.
"Why don't you call your uncle and ask him for some magical help?" Phoebe suggested as she sat on her friend's bed instead of helping her.
"Hey! Are you going to help me or not?" Bella growled as she sat on the trunk.
"Call your uncle!" repeated Phoebe. "We both know that neither one of us can perform magic since we're both under age."
"Fine." Bella grumbled. When she stood up and trunk burst up and most of her clothes flew out of it. Bella glared at the room and her best friend before setting off to the fireplace. She waited until her uncle's head appeared.
"What?" he asked, looking somewhat annoyed.
"Can you come over and perform some magic?" Bella asked.
"I'm busy." He replied. "What's the problem?"
"Most of my clothes can't fit into my trunk. I used up the last of the boxes for my other things."
Severus gave a frustrated sigh. "I'll send you a second trunk."
"Make that three." Said Bella. "One for my clothes, one for shoes, bags, excreta, and another for the robes you bought me." The last Sunday, Severus took his niece out to get her fitted for her new robes and other witch attire. But her muggle clothes outnumbered her new wizard ones by a mile. Maybe once she tries on her mother's old ones, her wizard ones might be within the numbers.
"Fine." Sneered Severus. Soon three trunks appeared next to Bella.
"Thanks!" Bella said brightly. Her uncle mumbled an incoherent 'Your Welcome' before his head disappeared from the fireplace and the fire turned back to its normal color.
"PHOEBE!" Bella screamed up. "HELP ME WITH THE TRUNKS!"
"How the hell will you survive over there?" Phoebe mumbled as she walked down the stairs. She took one of the trunks while Bella grabbed a hold two. Two hours later, Bella's packing was complete. Her room was now just a barren four-walled space with four trunks and a couple a huge boxes.
"Take out?" Phoebe suggested as they sat on the bar stools. Bella nodded. "Okay, which?" The brunette asked as she spread the take out menus on the kitchen counter.
"This is my last 'whole' meal here." Bella sighed. "Let's order a heck lot."
Phoebe grinned and picked up the phone. After an hour of waiting, each of their orders arrived one by one, in a total of five different restaurants. They ordered Chinese food (beef and broccoli, beef chow mien, BBQ pork, kung pow chicken, and walnut shrimp), one medium pizza with everything, Italian (garlic bread and spagatti), Mexican (tacos, quesadillas, beef burritos, and Spanish rice), and a chocolate cake from a local bakery that delivered. Phoebe spread the food out on the table while Bella took out the large serving plates, they need to use the big ones for their meal tonight.
"Are we seriously going to eat this all?" asked Phoebe as the two stared at the food.
"It's seven right now." Replied Bella as she looked at the clock. "Don't worry, we'll survive."
Phoebe gave a laugh. "Let's dig in!" She roared and attacked the pizza first. Bella gave a laugh as she began to pile the food onto the serving plate in her hand.
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Bella woke up the next day around five in the morning. She wasn't supposed to wake up until around nine, two hours before She meets with her uncle at his hotel. Their long distance Portkey was to be activated around twelve thirty. Bella warmed herself a mug of hot coco, even though it was the middle of June, and walked around the house. With most of the things that reminded her of home either packed in boxes or laying around in a storage space, the house didn't felt like home anymore. In fact, it stopped feeling like home about two and a half weeks ago.
Her eyes began to water as she walked through the house. Soon she was carrying an empty mug and made her way back to the kitchen. 'This isn't the last time you will see this place or be in America.' She thought as she placed the mug with a happy face saying, 'Have a Nice Day', in the sink. Bella knew that her uncle agreed to let her visit over holidays. But she still felt like she was never going to see this place again. By the time she would come back for a visit, Phoebe and Desiree would have already marked the house as their own.
"Morning." Phoebe greeted as she lazily walked into the kitchen. Bella had her back towards her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Phoebe rolled her eyes. "You're crying."
"No."
Phoebe leaned against the fridge. "Think about it, you'll be living in a mansion by tonight."
"But it wont be home." Bella whispered.
Phoebe gave a small laugh. "Knowing you, by the end of this week, it will be."
"Yeah." Replied Bella. "I'll go get ready."
"You are ready!" Phoebe joked.
"Let me rephrase that." Laughed Bella. "I'll go take a shower." She walked up the stairs and into her room. After a short shower she brushed her teeth, dried her hair and got dressed. She walked out wearing a pair of olive green drawstring pants, and a white tank top with a funky Asian type design in black and gold on the chest. She slipped on black-heeled flip-flops and grabbed her already filled white Coach hobo. After tying her hair in a loose bun she went down stairs.
Phoebe was sitting at the table eating left over chow mien. She was still dressed in her pajamas because she wasn't able to go see her off. Bella sat across from her friend and ate the left over pizza. They ate breakfast in silence, but it was comfortable and not awkward like with her uncle. The two best friends had no idea what to say, until Phoebe broke the silence.
"Remember that week in July, in the wizard village? When we ran into each other before our first year at Salem?" Phoebe asked as she played around with her beef and broccoli.
"Yeah, that was the time we first met." Bella smiled at the memory. She picked the olives from her pizza. "We bumped in to each other at the book store."
"Yeah, and you knocked all my books to the floor." Phoebe thought back. "Man, you were such a klutz!" she laughed. "Wait, you still are!"
"Hey! I'm not!" Bella retorted.
"Uh huh. Remember that potion we did back in February? You knocked the whole jar of bat ears into the potion! We failed the lesson!"
"But, we had a week off from potion because ours made the room stink for a week! Don't forget that the fumes also caused Vikki and her friend's hair to go neon green and blue and their skin to sport purple dots!"
Phoebe snorted. "Yeah, that was one fun week!"
"Yeah…" Bella looked at the clock. "It's eight forty-two."
"We've got a few hours to kill." Replied Phoebe. "What do you want to do?"
"I don't know." Bella replied truthfully. So the two sat on the couch and talked until it was almost eleven.
OoOoO
The ride to the Snape Estate was long, boring and bumpy. Bella sat in a carriage all by herself while her uncle rode in another ahead of her. She tried to read a book, but with the uneven road, reading made her head spin. Around midday, a few moments before the sun began to set, they arrived at the mansion. It wasn't a mansion, as her uncle told her, it was a castle. A small one, not too big, not too fancy and not too extravagant. Bella's first impression of her new home was that it looked like a cold medieval castle. In fact, it was an old medieval one. When Bella got out of the carriage, she saw two house elves levitating all her boxes and trunks into castle.
Her uncle had just entered the entrance, so Bella followed. Just like outside, the interior was just as cold. Severus gave her a brief tour of the place while the two house elves, Rocky and Loopy, place her things in her bedroom. The small castle consisted of a large kitchen, breakfast nook, great room, library, her uncle's two floored office/ lab, a fairly large dinning room (reserved for dinner and parties), two sitting rooms, five bedrooms, one, which she will occupy, a master bedroom (her uncle's), and four and a half bathrooms.
"This is your room." Severus explained as they stopped outside of the double doors. "Dinner will be in two hours, we're having a guest, so please dress up in one of your robes. Until then, you may roam around the place."
"Okay." Replied Bella as she opened the door. "See you at dinner." She entered the room and closed the doors. When she turned around her mouth fell opened. It appears the house elves had placed all her things in the room already. The canopy queen sized bed was facing her with beautiful green bed sheets that had silver embroidery. Fluffy pillows lay against the ebony headboard; black and silver ribbons held the dark green drapes back. On both sides of the bed were matching nightstands with lamps on them and a clock on the right one. Behind both nightstands was a window with curtains that matched the bed's drapes.
To her left was a bookcase already filled with her schoolbooks and whatever she own. Also there was a desk with a chair. The bookcase, desk, and chair matched the bed, both being made out of ebony, and the chair with a green cushion. At the corner, between the bookcase and the left nightstand was a black armchair with, yes, green decorative pillows.
To Bella's right was an ebony dresser that had five drawers, a matching vanity, which already had her jewelry and make up in the drawers, and two doors. Bella check both of them out, one was a complete bathroom and another was a walk in closet that already had all of her clothes, shoes, and bags in it, neatly hanged or folded. The walls were stone but a few pictures in their frames hung. The floor was of dark cherry wood, unlike outside of her room, which the flooring all over the house was stone, and had a dark green Persian rug lying with her bed on top.
"What's up with all the green?" Bella wondered out loud. She sat on the bed and looked around the room again. She took a deep breath. New room, new house, new country.
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Bella washed her face, brushed her teeth, and slipped on a midnight blue robe with sliver stars lining the bottom of the robes. Since the robe went all the way to floor, Bella decided to wear a pair of muggle high heels. As she dressed, she wondered who the guest would be. A coworker? A family-friend? Or some government Official? She had no clue. She brushed her hair one more time and left for the dinning room.
After ten minutes of wandering around the halls, Bella deemed her self lost. "Great." Bella muttered. She was pretty sure that the dinning room was downstairs near the kitchen. It also didn't help Bella that she forgot where the kitchen was also. She passed by a grandfather clock and checks the time. She was five minutes late.
"Crap." She cursed. "Wait… house elves… helpful creatures…" She muttered before calling Loopy.
"Yes, Miss Bella?" Loopy asked once he appeared.
"Where's the dinning room?" Bella asked kindly with a smile.
"Oh, Miss Bella! You're standing right in front if the dinning room doors!" Loopy squealed.
The smile she had on fell. She passed that door three times! "Oh, uh… thanks." Bella turned and turned the handle of one of the doors. As she entered she could hear her uncle's voice. The guest had arrived and they were having a conversation. The guest was an older woman. She had salt and pepper hair that was held back with a bun. She looked sophisticated in her burgundy velvet robes and had a dour face as she talked to Severus. "Ah, speak of the devil." The woman said as the two looked towards Bella.
"Sorry, I was late, I got lost." Said Bella shamefacedly.
Severus gave a nod before introducing her to the guest. She was Minerva McGonagall, one of Severus' colleagues, the Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts. "Pleasure to meet you." Bella greeted and sat to her uncle's right.
"Pleasure's all mine, dear." The older professor said warmly.
"We were discussing about your schooling at Hogwarts." Severus explained.
"Yes, it is very rare for the school to receive a student over the age of eleven. Very few have started Hogwarts at a older age." Said Minerva. "Sixth year, correct?" the younger girl nodded.
"Now, according to your uncle, you are attending Hogwarts under his last name?" asked Minerva.
"Yeah, I mean, yes." Bella quickly recovered.
Minerva smirked. "That will cause some rumors to fly at school."
"Why?" Bella kindly asked.
"Severus has quite a reputation at Hogwarts." She explained. Severus rolled his eyes.
"Oh really?" Bella looked at her uncle. "Care to tell?"
"I rather not." Severus replied rather agitated.
Bella shrugged. "So, when does the term start?"
"On September first." Severus replied as he drank a bit of wine. "Two months away." He added.
"I bought your school supplies already." Said Minerva. "To save the hassle of going to Diagon Alley, plus it's unsafe to go out to busy places like that during these times. I had one of the elves place them in the library."
"Oh, thanks." Said Bella. "You didn't have to…"
"It's alright. The headmaster told me to buy them before I came over." replied Minerva. "That reminds me." She then pulled out parchment from her inner pocket. "This is the list of your classes, I brought it over to check with the both of you." She handed the list to Severus who looked at it. Bella saw a sour look on her uncle's face as he looked at her classes. He gave it to Bella. Once it was in Bella's hands she began to look over it.
N. E. W. T. Defense Against Dark ArtsPotions
Herbology
N. E. W. T. Charms
History of Magic
N. E. W. T. Transfiguration
Astronomy
Divination
N. E. W. T. Ancient Runes.
Bella understood why her uncle had that look on his face. Bella didn't receive enough O.W.L s to get into the N.E.W.T level potion class. Bella scrunched her face a bit as she tried to remember her test scores. She remembered excelling in Charms and in Ancient Runes, earning Os in both of them, an E in DADA, Astronomy and in Transfiguration. She barely got an A Divination and in History of Magic. Her lowest were Herbology, D, and Potion, which she got a P.
"The classes are alright." Bella placed the paper on the table. "This is just a list, when do I get my real schedule?"
"Second day of school when classes start." Answered her uncle. A moment later, one of the house elves, Poppy, appeared with food in tow. As the three ate, the talked about Hogwarts, well, most like Bella and Minerva talked, Severus had just provided comments.
"It's ten." Said Severus just as Bella finished her desert, which as a crepe filled with strawberries and vanilla ice cream. "I think it is time for you to retire to bed."
"But… isn't it early? It's summer…" replied Bella as the empty plate disappeared.
"Severus, she could stay up longer-" Minerva began but stopped when Severus gave her a look that she must have clearly understood. "You must be sleepy by now. The time difference must make you feel a bit drowsy."
Bella was taken back from the professor's sudden turn. The look on their faces clearly stated to Bella that it was good for her to go to bed. "Okay." Bella muttered and left the table. "Good night."
When she left, Minerva turned to the potion master. "He's calling you, isn't he?"
Severus rubbed his forearm. "Yes, do you mind, Professor? To stay here until I come back?" Severus still called Minerva Professor, even during summer holidays. He was quite fond with formalities. Minerva noticed that he hasn't talked to Bella about addressing him as sir yet.
"Yes of course. I'll stay out of sight. Wouldn't want her to have questions why I'm staying over night and why you're gone." Accepted Minerva. "What do you want me to tell the house elves so they can tell Bella?"
"Tell them that I had to do something at Hogwarts. Hopefully Bella wont think of anything else." Severus got up from his chair. "Accio cloak." Soon a black hooded cloak came flying towards Severus. As he slipped on his cloak he turned to Minerva. "I'll be back as soon as possible, Make sure everything here is fine." The woman nodded as Severus apparated to the Death Eater meeting.
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A/N: Okay! Yay! Update! Ha-ha… okay, whooo… I hope I didn't bore you guys with all the descriptions of clothes and the bedroom… I figure it would help with the mental image in your heads!
And the Italian… I don't know if that is accurate, I used a online translator, yes I am lazy… I use that when I get stuck in French… okay… anyways… so if the grammar is wrong or spelled wrong… SORRY! Blame the site!
I was reading North Tower Editorial called Severus Snape 2: Losing Control, and I realized that I made Snape a bit to OOC by having him a bit too nice and understanding. So to fix that up, and not change his 'nice' side, I'll make him a bit mean-ish once Bella starts school.
Okay, Barro's Pizza is down stairs right now, have to wrap Dez's b-day gift, study for English test on Romeo and Juliet acts one and two, work on state project for World Geography, and be lazy.
Okay, thanks for reading and PLEASE review!
-LalathePanda