A/N: YES! It done! (throws confetti into the air) THANKS EMILY! BWAHAHA. Okay, not one of my favorites to write, but here's the new chapter! Sorry for the really long wait!
Breanna Senese: Thank you! My days have gotten better! And I got a "B" on my last math test! OOOH! My older brother is graduating from medical school this Friday and next week is my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary! Plus the guy I like in French is now sitting at my table! Life's been swell! Snape is a very sneering type dude. I think he frowns and sneers a lot. Probably does. Well, I hope you like this chapter! Thanks again!
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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Are you locked up in a world,
That's been planned out for you?
Are you feeling like a social tool without a use?
Scream at me until my ears bleed
I'm taking heed just for you!
-She, Green Day
OoOoOoO
Thicker Than Water
By: LalathePanda
Chapter five: A Day of Merriment
Bella woke up the morning after her encounter with the infamous Head Boy feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, until she remembered her encounter with that snooty Head Boy. She fell back into her bed, wishing that it were still three in the morning so she could go to sleep and not face her peers. She felt the warm sunlight hit her face when Ginny pulled back her curtains.
"Rise and shine and face the music, Bella," said Ginny as she tried to pull her roommate out of bed.
"I don't wanna…" complained Bella as she wiggled her wrist out of Ginny's grasp and pulled the blanket over her head.
"Stop acting like a child."
Bella threw back the covers. "Am not!" she exclaimed, pretending to be offended. She placed her hand on her chest and had a shock impression on her face.
Ginny rolled her eyes at her friend's juvenile joke. "Just get up," she glanced at the sleeping forms of their two other roommates before whispering, "so what if you're related to Snape? You got it, flaunt it."
Bella arched an eyebrow. "Flaunt it? What crap are you talking about?"
"Hey, not many people here can say that they are related to that grease ball. You have one thing they don't, a blood relation to a professor… think of all the stuff you'll get away with…" explained Ginny.
"My uncle is strict, like hell will I get away with anything!"
"You burnt his shoes yesterday! All you got was a point deduction! If this was any other student, like Harry for example, then you'll be wishing that you never went to Hogwarts!" said Ginny. "Plus, you wouldn't want to give Malfoy the satisfaction of you acting like this. Surprise the prat by acting the way he wouldn't expect, that no one else would expect."
Bella smirked. "I would love to see the look and his face… fine, I'll 'flaunt it'."
"Great, now great ready while I wake up those two," Ginny referred to the two other sleeping girls.
Bella gave a salute. "Okay, see you at breakfast."
After Bella got washed and dressed up in her uniform, she grabbed her school bag and left for the Great Hall. She got lost on her way to breakfast, but was able to find the hall by asking help from the paintings. When she walked through the doors, most eyes were locked on her. She froze up, but she saw Draco's smirking face. Bella lifted her head high and proceeded to walk to the Gryffindor table and plop her self between Ginny and Lavender.
"Is it true? It's not bullocks?" was the first thing Lavender said. She was obviously referring to Snape being her uncle. Bella gave her a nod as she spread some apricot jam on her toast. "Oh. My. God. Really? But, you're so nice!"
Bella gave a smile. "Yeah, mind-boggling, isn't it?" she bit into her toast. "Yum."
"… You're acting too casual," said Colin as he slid into the seat across the girls. "I mean… you're the news of the school, people are going to treat you differently, make fun of you, ostracize you … and here you are eating toast… is that apricot jam?" Bella nodded. "Wicked!" he exclaimed and took the jar and spread the sweet jam on his slice of toast.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "It's going to be big news here. Act indifferent. If she doesn't show any reaction to it, then the gossip will die down, because people want a reaction from her. Take Draco for example. The look on his face reads that he is waiting for her to make this a bigger deal. Sadistic twit," she muttered the last part to her self.
"The ferret was the first to find out, right? Spread the rumors?" questioned Colin. Bella gave a nod.
"Oy! Ginny!" called Ron as he went up to his sister. "Why are you hanging out with her?"
"Ron!" exclaimed Ginny when she saw Bella's hurt look. She smacked her older brother's arm hard.
"OW! Ginny!"
"Stop being an ass!"
"What? She's a Snape!" reasoned Ron.
"She's nothing like Snape!" replied Ginny, "for one thing Bella is nice."
"And a Gryffindor," both Colin and Lavender added.
Ron's face turned red. "She might be a spy-" he started before Hermione and pulled him away. "Mione!"
"Ron, don't bad talk a professor's relative when the professor is within a earshot." Said Hermione as she dragged her boyfriend to the spot where she and Harry were sitting. "And why the hell would Bella be a spy? Too much butterbeer, Ron, too much."
"Thanks Hermione!" called Ginny.
"No problem!" Hermione called back.
"Always can count on Hermione to keep a level head," joked Colin.
"Yeah, Hermione's big on that 'it doesn't matter about blood' thing," Ginny said to Bella, "I bet when she heard it, she probably brushed the fact off."
"I see," replied Bella. She glanced at the huge clock above the huge double doors of the hall. "We have Charms today, right?"
"Correct." said Ginny as she started at the remaining piece of her sticky bun, trying to decide to eat it or not.
"Then we should get moving, from what Colin tells me," Bella looks at Colin, who grins at her, "The classroom is a pretty long walk from here. We better be on our way."
"Okay," Ginny replied as the three got up.
"Are you going to eat that?" said Colin. He pointed at the small piece of Ginny's breakfast.
"Nah, you can have it if you want, Colin," answered Ginny as she placed her school bag over her shoulders.
"Sweet…" he said as he jammed the piece into his mouth and followed the two out of the hall. Bella looked over her shoulder, passed the starting eyes of her fellow peers, and saw her uncle taking his seat at the head table. She gave a weary smile at her uncle who had begun a conversation with the flying instructor. As the three passed through the threshold of the grand doors, Bella thought to herself that if she can accept her uncle, then he will, in time, accept her too.
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Bella leaned against the back of the sofa and let out a tired sigh. "Sleepy?" asked Ginny, looking up from her Charms assignment.
"No… just thinking," replied Bella as she watched the fire flicker in the fireplace.
Colin looked up from his photo album; he was adding new pictures in it. "About what?" he asked. Bella lifted her head towards the group of Gryffindor students, huddled at a table, whispering and looking her way. "Them?" he questioned. "Don't think about them. Trust me, if the golden trio is okay with you, then they will come around too."
"Yeah…" said Bella. She leaned over and picked up a pad of parchment off the coffee table. "Hey, Lav, can I borrow your quill, since you're not using it," she addressed the girl sitting on the floor.
Lavender, without looking up from her fashion magazine, tossed the quill to Bella. "Thanks," said Bella, and she began to write a letter to Phoebe. When she finished her two paged, front and back, letter to her best friends, she stuck it in her Ancient Runes book.
Hermione came into the common room just as most of the students were heading to bed, leaving Ron, Harry, Ginny, Colin, Bella, Lavender, Neville, and a sleeping Paravti in the room. She had just finished her Head Girl duties of walking around the school looking for curfew breakers and wanted to spend the rest of the evening with the gang. "Hey," she greeted when she flopped right next to Ron on the couch opposite of Ginny, Bella, and Colin.
"Hey." "Evening." "'Ello…" "Hi" They all said, but not stopping their own task.
"Still doing work?" questioned Hermione.
"Finished." "Lazy." "Tomorrow morning." "What does it look like?" were the responses.
"Anyone up for a game?" asked Ron, pointing to the chessboard. Harry groaned. "What?" Ron asked Harry.
"It's just… we've been playing that way too much." He replied.
"And you win way too much," added Ginny.
"Fine! Anyone else got a suggestion?" countered Ron. No one answered. "Ah-ha!" he exclaimed in triumph.
"Chess it is," said Hermione as she got off the couch. She picked up the board off the side table and brought it to Ron and Harry. Everyone went back to what they were doing. Colin was fixing his photos, Lavender was flipping through her magazines, Bella was reading a muggle book called The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Ginny was adding some finishing touches to her Charms homework, Parvati was still asleep, and Neville and Hermione watched Ron and Harry play a game of Wizard Chess.
"Hey, Ginny, how did the vocal lessons during the summer with Fleur go?" asked Colin.
"Great!" replied Ginny as she closed her textbook.
"Vocal lessons?" questioned Bella.
"Yeah, our older brother's girlfriend decided to give Ginny singing lessons." Said Ron as he watched his bishop destroy Harry's last knight. "Ginny has a great voice," he added.
"Stop it!" yelled Ginny. She then blushed. "It's not that great."
"Really?" exclaimed Bella. "I want to hear!"
"Me too!" said both Harry and Colin. Lavender lifted her eyes off the glossy pages. "Me three, Gin." She said.
"I don't want to," whined Ginny.
"Aw! Please!" the other girls begged. After intense begging, Ginny finally gave in. She stood up in front of the fireplace.
"What do you guys want to hear?" she asked. "I'm open to suggestions."
"Oh! The last song Fleur taught you!" suggested Ron. "Before Harry and Hermione came to stay over."
Ginny nodded and took a breath. She opened her mouth and began to sing. "Follow me to a land across the shining sea… Waiting beyond the world we have known… Beyond the world the dream could be… and the joy we have tasted."
Parvati slowly woke up and saw Ginny singing. She closed her eyes and allowed the song to carry her off to sleep again. Bella smiled at the beauty of Ginny's voice. Ron whispered, "I told you so." to Bella who nodded.
"Follow me, along the road that only love can see… Rising above the fun years of the night… Into the light beyond the tears… and all the years we have wasted…"
Harry leaned over to Hermione and whispered, "Fleur must be one hell of a teacher…"
"Follow me to a distant land this mountain high… Where all the music we have always kept inside will fill the sky… Singing in the silent swerve a heart is free… While the world goes on running and turning… Turning and Falling…" Ginny held on the last part. She opened her eyes and the occupants of the room gave her the loudest applause they could muster.
"Awesome, Ginny!" "Brilliant, bloody brilliant!" "Ginny! Our little siren!" and other compliments were said. Ginny blushed, and quietly sat back down.
"Fleur is one bloody hell of a teacher," commented Harry. "You have a fantastic voice, Ginny." Bella noticed that Ginny's cheeks blushed even more at Harry's compliment.
Colin closed his photo album and bid everyone goodnight. His leaving caused a chain reaction. Everyone slowly went to his or her dorms, except Parvati, who was still asleep on the sofa. Hermione was the last to leave. She looked at the common room before exiting via the portrait. I wish we'll have more times like these… she thought hopelessly before turning around and making her way to the Head's dorm room.
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Severus watched three sixth year Gryffindors enter his classroom for class. The Youngest Weasely, the annoying kid with the camera, and his niece took their seats at the far right end of the classroom, nearest to the door, furthest from his desk. He did nothing and went back to his work until the bell rang, signifying that class has begun.
Severus rose from his desk and walked up to the chalkboard. With a tap of his wand, the notes for the sixth years appeared on the board. "Today we'll be learning a new potion called Morte Falsa, which means fake death in Italian." He tapped his wand on the board again, and a line appeared beneath the name of the potion.
"Founded in the fourteenth century by a well known potion master of the time, Friar Laurence of Verona, Italy. Morte Falsa is a potion that when drunk it will put the drinker into a dead like state for forty-eight hours, meaning no heart beat, the blood runs cold, and other signs of death. Once that time is up, the drinker is as healthy as he or she was before the potion. It is a powerful potion, and cannot be detected by any spells or charms. It is similar to the Draught of the Living Death, but the draught potion puts you into a deep sleep, not into death like Morte Falsa. The key ingredients are the dry petals of a dead Devil's Snare and the ashes of wormwood. For tonight's homework, write a two foot essay on the properties of dried Devil's Snare."
He tapped his board one more time to reveal the instructions. "This potion takes a week long, so do not rush." He warned before heading back to his desk as the students rush to get to best ingredients before they are left with the 'scraps'.
Bella stood next to Ginny, who was weighing the powdered wormwood on the weighing scale. Bella stared at her uncle and silently promise to herself that she will go and talk to him after class. While Bella stood next to Ginny, a student from another house whispered venomously to Bella, "teacher's pet."
"Shut it, Bertha," growled Ginny as she poured the powder into a bag.
"Who would've thought that a Weasley would stick up for a Snape?" replied Stella as she lightly, and rudely, shoved Bella out of her way. "Hoping that being nice will get you a better grade?"
"Look here you-" began Ginny.
"What's going on back there?" barked the Potion professor from his desk.
"Nothing," the three replied. Ginny's sounded aggravated, Bella's sounded like she was worn-out, and Stella's reply was swimming in oversweet sugar.
"Ten points from Gryffindor and five from RavenClaw," was all Severus said before going back to his business. Stella gave huff before returning to her work area.
"She's such a bloody-" Ginny began before Bella hushed her.
"Don't cuss," she warned. "My mother always told me that cussing was un-lady-like." She said in a whisper. "Same with my uncle. He is very traditional. Like an old man." Ginny laughed at Bella's example.
"I think his version of dignified means to have to lose the American accent, eh?" joked Bella.
Ginny gave a crooked smile and then simply replied, "Maybe that's just you. His expectations aren't the same for everyone. Take Harry for instances, Snape has lower expectations for him… same for Ron. But Stella really is a total-"
"Hey! Can I have half a ounce sun dried powdered rose seeds?" Asked Colin, stopping Ginny from finishing her sentence.
"Sure," replied Bella picked up the bag that held the ingredient Colin asked for. She also picked up the magical measurement spoon, which changes to fit whatever amount you need, and handed both objects to Colin. "Be quick, we're going to use that spoon soon."
When class was over, Bella and Ginny successfully finished the first phase of the potion. The three friends exited the classroom together and headed to the tower. Bella completely forgot her plans to talk to Severus, but luckily remembered just as the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open.
"Crap! I have to ask a professor something!" exclaimed Bella.
"Bella, saying crap is so un-lady like!" mocked Ginny.
Bella rolled her eyes. "I'll see you guys for dinner!" she said before rushing off.
"I bet she's going to Snape," said Colin when Bella disappeared from their sight.
"Hey! I was going to say that!" said Ginny. "It's no brainier… Oh! I bet Ron is playing a round of chess with Harry!"
"Ginny that is so obvious!" replied Colin as they stepped though the entrance. And sure enough, Ron was playing chess, but not with Harry, but with Neville, who was losing horribly.
"Hey! Hogmeade weekend is next week!" exclaimed Colin when he saw the notice board.
"So soon?" questioned Ginny.
"Is that a problem?" joked Colin.
Ginny the casually replied, "Nope. Not at all."
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Severus was fixing his classroom up when there was a knock on the door. Before he even allowed the person in, it opened and Bella timidly entered. "Can we talk?" she simply asked. Severus gave a nod and Bella closed the door. "Um, I just wanted to say that I am sorry for yesterday, that whole shoe thing." Bella waited for him to say something, like 'your forgiven' or 'it's your damn fault' or something along the lines.
But what she didn't expect her uncle to say this, "I am too, sorry for my outburst."
"Oh, it's okay," she replied, slightly taken back. Bella's heart jumped for joy, knowing that she wasn't a burden. But then she noticed that he sounded hesitant. Oh, well, can't hope for everything, she thought. "Er… There's a Hogmeade weekend coming soon, I was thinking we can go eat lunch and, uh… catch up?" suggested Bella.
"Sorry, I believe I'm busy."
Believe my ass, thought Bella, but she gave him a faint smile. "That's alright, another time then?" He glanced up and gave her nod. "Okay, I'll be heading off now, got homework to do." She turned around for the door.
"Bella," Severus stopped her. "If anyone is hassling you, tell me." It sounded more like an order than a request.
Bella tightened her hold on the knob. "Okay, thanks." And with that she left the classroom. When Severus heard the door close, he looked up and stared at it, before returning to his never-ending work.
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Bella put her hands into her pockets. She felt a piece of parchment against her fingertips. "Oh the letter…" she muttered to herself. She pulled out the letter for Phoebe she wrote during lunch. The Owlery was close so Bella figured she had the time to stop by. She stuffed the letter back into her cardigan pocket and hurried up the nearest stairs.
Her shoes clicked against the cold stone floor and echoed. She made it to the tall circular room that had cages and cages filled with all kinds of owls lining the walls. She quickly found Perry and opened the cage door. "Hey there," Bella greeted. Perry gave a hoot as she took him out of the cage. "I got a letter for Phoebe." She brought out the letter and attached it to Perry's leg.
She brought Perry to the window and opened it. "Have a safe trip," she told the owl before letting it fly off into the purple and pinkish sky. Bella heard footsteps slowly making their way to the Owlry. She turned her head just as the door opened.
" Hey," she greeted. "Isn't Qudditch practice right now?"
"Yeah, but the captain of the Slytherin team is being a git."
"That Malfoy fellow?" asked Bella. "What did he do?"
"Got your uncle to sign them a note saying that they have the Qudditch pit for today, even though it was ours for the day."
"Sounds like you're blaming my uncle for this, Harry," said Bella as she closed the cage door. "Don't worry, from what I hear, Malfoy can get the pit every day this week and he still won't be able to beat you and your team."
"Thanks," said Harry as he walked over to his white owl, Hedwig. "So, who are you sending a letter to?" he asked casually, trying to make small talk.
"My best friend in America," replied Bella. "She's probably sleeping right now though."
"That'll be a rude awakening," joked Harry as he attached the letter to Hedwig's leg. "Mine's to a family friend," he walked over to the already opened window with Hedwig on his arm. Bella leaned against a column as Harry watched his owl fly off into the sunset.
Bella stared at the Boy Who Lived. His hair was messy, he was rather thin for an athlete, he was tall, his clothes were a bit loose on him, and his emerald green eyes had a tired look in them. This was not how Bella and most other witches at her old school pictured Harry Potter. The girls would imagine him as this tall, muscular young man, who was confident, witty and, well, sexy. Bella smiled to herself, but it faded and she realized she was not standing in the presence of some so called teenage hunk, but a boy with the world on his shoulders and she had a question burning in her brain.
"Do you miss them?" Bella asked softly.
Harry turned and looked at Snape's niece. "Sometimes," he replied after he registered the question into his mind. "But, I didn't really get the chance to know them, only though other people's stories. I really miss my godfather."
"Godfather?"
"Sirius Black," replied Harry. "He's innocent, by the way."
Bella nodded, remembering the convicted murder who was the first to escape Azkaban. She also remembered reading in the papers about his death that happened two years ago.
"Closest person I had to a parent," added Harry. "Do you miss yours?" he asked, turning the tables. "Ginny told me."
Bella turned her head, facing away from Harry. "All the time," she replied, her eyes getting a bit watery. "All the time."
Harry nodded, knowing it must have been more painful for her since she knew them. "It will be fine, you have your uncle, even though he isn't the most caring person."
"He'll come around," Bella whispered.
"Pardon?"
"Nothing," said Bella hastily. She glanced at the clock above the door. The hand moved to six and the background changed from a blue sky with clouds and a sun, to a dark navy with a powder yellow moon and glittering stars. "Dinner is gonna be served soon."
"Yeah, I have to head to the Library and drag Hermione out, that is if Ron hasn't done so already." Harry waved goodbye and left the room. Bella lingered for a moment before walking out.
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A/N: Thanks for reading and please review! The song Ginny sang is called "Follow Me" from the anime Ghost In The Shell. Great song. Okay, review!
Love and Peace!
LalathePanda