A/N: Bwahaha! It's a new chapter and it's BETA-ed! DUDE! It's SUMMER (but has summer homework due to English II Honors)! That means I could write more and my BETA-er was edit more! Okay, I've made up my mind; this story should take at least less then 20 chapters. Under 25 at the most!
Ha-ha, surprise someone like got into English II Honor's with grammar like mines? LMAO! I was in Reg. English as a freshman, but passed the test, got a passing score on the essay and got accepted to the honors class! Okay, enough of my ego, on to the good stuff!
Jenny: thanks for liking the story! Don't die yet! I've still got more chapters! I hope you keep reading!
Dnd4ever: thanks for reviewing! I'll keep the thing about the owlery in mind!
Mebear: Yup, Snape is a bit stubborn. I love your idea about the American board games. It's already in the 7th chapter! Thanks for your input!
Baie-baie: thanks for the review! I'm trying as fast as I can!
Unnamed: Who ever you are, thanks for the review!
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!
OoOoO
"We all wait for the day
That there will be no strife.
Wounded soldiers,
Remember now
Your mother's warmth."
-Rakuen (Translated) by Do As Infinity
OoOoO
Thicker Than Water
By: LalathePanda
Chapter Six: Weekend's Sad Joys
"Bella! Bella! Up! Wake up!" Ginny hollered into the sleeping girl's ear. Bella's reply was flinging her arms around trying to hit the redhead.
"Go away!" Bella said loudly into the fluffy red pillow. "It's too early!"
"But it's Hogmeade Weekend! We have to get to the gate early!" responded Ginny.
Bella lifted her head up and brushed her black hair away from her face. She glanced at the clock. "It's only seven-"
"GET UP!" roared Ginny.
"Fine!" Bella jumped out of the bed. She stretched yawned, and scratched her side in a very manly manner.
Ginny just shook her head. "I'm heading to the showers," was all she said before grabbing her toilet bag and a towel before leaving the room. In a few minutes, Bella came out of the dorm and walked down the stairs where she met up with Dean Thomas.
"Hey there," greeted Bella with a warm smile.
Dean gave a small hello and darted away from Bella's side. Bella just shook her head. People were still uneasy around her. Bella swiftly smelled her under arms and breath. Nope, it wasn't that; thank Merlin. Bella stepped outside the Portrait hole, and reappeared in the common room half an hour later, still in her night wear, but clean with semi-wet hair. As Bella walked up the stairs again to get to her dorm she passed by a fully dressed Ginny. The red head sported a pair of baggy hip hugger jeans, a purple shirt, orange belt, not-so-clean white sneakers and a baby blue robe.
"You just got out of the showers?" asked Ginny.
"Yeah-"
"Get ready! You have to eat breakfast before the trip!" ordered Ginny before scurrying down the stairs to get breakfast. Bella rudely rolled her eyes before continuing her way to her dorm. Moments later a dressed Bella was walking down the corridors towards to Great Hall with Hermione, Ron, and Harry.
"Is Ginny always like this on Hogmeade Weekends?" asked Bella.
"Yeah," answered Ron, "reminds me of Mum." They entered the hall and sat at the table.
"Finally! You guys take so long!" Ginny growled at the four as they sat.
"Sorry," Bella said with another rolling of her eyes. She looked down at her attire. Her low-rise jeans with wide legs were held up at her waist by a white belt that had a chain on the side. Her halter-top had a banana yellow bodice, a sea blue bust, and at the bottom of the top was apple red. Her feet were graced with white multi-colored beaded flat thong sandals. Bella also wore an outer witch robe that was dark grey with red cloth stars sewn at around the bottom and ends of her sleeves. At the teenager's side was a white woven leather Bottega Veneta Hobo.
"Aren't you a bit to dressed up?" asked Hermione as she buttered her toast.
Bella looked up from her oatmeal. "Huh?" She looked at her clothes again. "I don't think so… why?" Hermione just shrugged and didn't reply. Bella went back to her meal, until half way into to it, she was dragged out of the hall by a very impatient Ginny.
"We have two hours to hang around the village before lunch at The Three Broomsticks with the gang, and then four hours after that before we leave to go back to the castle," said Ginny as she hauled Bella towards the gates where the carriages waited.
"Okie Dokie, Captain!" Bella playfully teased the uptight redhead. They climbed into a carriage that was already occupied by Colin, Neville and Luna. "'Ello, Luna," greeted Ginny.
"Greetings!" replied Luna.
"Hey, want to go to the stores with Bella and I?" asked Ginny. Luna looked at the two of them.
"Bella? As in Snape?" questioned Luna, tilting her head.
"Yeah," both Neville and Colin replied slowly.
"Hey, we sat on the train together!" remembered Bella.
"Oh, yeah," replied the paler girl. "Sure, I guess I can come along. My hunt for the Purple Hairy Hand Spider plant will just have to wait…" Neville was about to say something about the non-existent plant, being the Herbology buff he is, but shut his mouth. The rest of the bumpy ride was spent with the two boys taking about Zonko's new items and the opening of the second WWW store, while the three girls talked about a new clothing store that had just opened in the village during the summer. When the carriage came to a very unpleasant halt, the five piled out and went their separate ways, after confirming the lunch rendezvous.
Bella followed Ginny and Luna, for they had experience here. Hogsmeade was a very bucolic village, but to a wizard or a witch, it was very modern. Ginny soon became the leader of the three. Luna and Bella went into any store she went to. Currently they were casually browsing through the racks of a clothing store that sold vintage witches attire, or in other words, cheap used clothes. Bella had quickly noticed, by the third store, that Ginny only walked into the second-hand stores.
"This is a nice shade," said Ginny as she pulled out a dark gold yellow item from the rack.
"A bit too velvety for my personal taste," commented Luna as she placed an appalling lace and feather hat on her head.
Bella skimmed through the jewelry while her friends looked at the clothes. Many of the items she saw needed some cleaning and polishing, but once cleaned, they would be dazzling. Someone's trash, another's treasure, Bella thought as she held a pair of chandelier earrings. She imagined the piece of jewelry in her mind, all sparkling and brilliant. While Ginny was commenting on the hat Luna had on her head, Bella bought the earrings.
"You bought something?" said Luna when Bella came towards them.
"It's a bit obvious, Luna," replied Ginny. "What did you get?"
"A pair of earrings," replied Bella. She placed the brown paper wrapped box into her bag. "Done looking?" she asked the two, while putting her coin purse into her bag.
"Yeah, the hat won't go with anything I have," said Luna as she placed the ugly hat back on the shelf. The three exited the store and began looking around for another store to browse around in.
"How about you chose a store this time, Bella," suggested Ginny. Bella nodded and took the front position of the group and looked into the windows of the stores. So far none of the stores interested her. Every now and then she would glance back at the two other girls. When Bella looked back this time, she noticed that Ginny was beginning to look rather uncomfortable. Bella looked forward again. Most of the shops at this street were on the higher end.
Bella, not wanting her friend to feel embarrassed, was about the turn the other direction; maybe head over to that candle shop they passed by a while ago. Sadly, Luna stopped them and pointed to a store.
"Let's go in there," she said, pointing to another clothing store. The store looked very spacious, and it said Abbigliamento Perfetto in fancy golden letters. Bella, who lived in Italy for the first five years of her life, knew it meant "Perfect Attire."
"Looks familiar," Bella muttered to herself. She then remembered it was one of the stores her uncle ordered clothes from for her, she remembered the fancy gold letters that were imprinted on the boxes. She never been in the store itself, being that she only left the family castle only two times during her first stay.
"Say what?" asked Ginny as they walked into to the store.
"Oh nothing," replied Bella. "It's just that my uncle got some of my robes from here."
"Damn, then Snape must have some good taste," said Luna as she looked at a lovely shade of light blue robes. "And a pricey taste too," she said after looking at the price tag and placing the robe back.
"And why did you want to go in here in the first place?" asked Ginny, looking pointedly at Luna.
"Looked interesting," replied Luna with a shrug. Just then a middle-aged witch came by dressed in black robes with silver lining.
"May I help you?" the witch asked haughty. Ginny looked a bit angrier at the tone of the witch's voice.
"No thank you," Luna replied. The witch nodded and left the three.
"Lets go," Bella said ready to leave to store.
"Leaving so soon? You've just walked in here," a horribly sick sweet voice said. It reminded Bella of the four girls from Salem. The girls turned around and saw Pansy Parkinson and four other Slytherins. "To poor to afford things here?"
Ginny had her hand in her pocket, already clutching her wand. "Be quiet, Parkinson." Luna, not wanting trouble, took the arm that was in the pocket and began to pull her out of the store.
"That's right," smirked Pansy. "Go off and run. Go cry to the golden boy. Head back to those hand-me-down stores, Weasel, and go find those stupid creatures of yours, Lovegood." She looked at Bella. "Go ahead and rat on us, Snape. Like your uncle would do anything to hurt Slytherin, even if it is you."
"Big talk for a girl whose brain is small enough for a humming bird to chew," said Ginny, who had shaken off Luna's hand.
"Ginny, let's just go," Bella pleaded quietly. This was too similar to the time they bumped into Malfoy. "Just calm down and leave." Ginny nodded before turning around to leave. The Slytherins still yelled some nasty remarks at them as they exited the store.
"It's almost lunch time, everyone should be heading to The Three Broomsticks by now," said Luna. The three headed to the pub. They were the last to get there. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lavender, the Patil twims, Colin, Dean, Neville, and Seamus were already seated at a round table.
"We ordered you guys some butterbeer already," Ron said, as the three sat down.
"What kept you up?" asked Colin.
"Parkinson," Ginny muttered bitterly as reached for her mug.
"Ah, the pug…" sighed Lavender.
"We ran into Malfoy. Nasty bugger," said Harry. "We always seem to bump into him during Hogsmeade weekend."
"Try working and sharing the same common room with him," Hermione tiredly said. "It's horrible."
"If he ever makes a move on you, Moine-" Ron began, being the overly protective person he is.
"You will beat him to a bloody pulp. We know!" Both Harry and Hermione groaned.
"Damn straight!" exclaimed Ron. Ginny snorted into her drink. "Hey, you think I can't beat Malfoy?"
Ginny looked up. "No, no. It's . . .it's just a f-funny thought. That's a-all." His sister managed to say before laughing. The rest of the girls had a fit of giggles, for it was hard to suppress them. Ron just crossed his arms and looked annoyed.
"Oh shut it!" he said.
"Don't get fired up, Ron," said Seamus. "Let the girls have their giggle," he added as he popped some beer nuts into his mouth. Soon a waiter came, and they ordered a bunch of appetizers, so they can all share. When they all finished lunch, the large group began to make their way out of the pub.
Seamus was explaining a quiditch move to the boys. "So, if you tilt the end of the broom up you can perform a almost perfect-"
SLAM!
The doors banged shut just as they got to the exit. "Hey, what the f-" Dean began when the barkeep began to speak.
He stood on the bar and uneasily said, "I have been informed that there has been a death eater attack a few miles from here. According to Ministry protocol, we must leave the pub and we have many portkeys that will send you just outside of Hogwarts. Please, women and underage witches and wizards first."
With that, the occupants all raced to the nearest portkeys (which were placed on the bar). No one took any chances. One of the recent attacks that took place in the area happened before the previous school year ended. With death eater activity that close by, the Ministry took extreme safety precautions. The public has also become fearful due to the attacks on small muggle towns and minor battles over the past year. The attacks slowly grew bigger. The numbers of deaths on both sides increased slowly fueled the terror in the public's mind. Harry and everyone else knew that the worst was yet to come.
Ron grabbed both Hermione's and Ginny's hands as he grabbed a portkey from the bar. Lavender and Parvati, both being drama queens, became hysteric and started screaming. Padma had to calm them down and help them to a group that was just leaving. Bella stood there idiotically. She never been in this situation and had no clue how to react or what to do. Her mind raced with thoughts before going blank. Perfect timing for a dumb blond moment, she thought sarcastically. Colin, noticing this, ran back to Bella, snatched her arm and pulled her to a group that had just seized a portkey. She closed her eyes when she felt a tug at her stomach and when she opened them she was in front of the castle, with Colin at her side.
Bella collapsed onto the floor, her robe spread around her. "What just happened?" she breathed.
Colin replied, "There was an attack near by. Ever since last year, the Ministry has taken safety very strictly." He helped her up from the ground. "I hope Denis got back," he said to him self, worried about his younger brother.
Bella stared at the floor. She grew up in America, and she never had to worry about these attacks. She was so sheltered. When she looked up she saw Ginny standing before her. Her face was unreadable, but she looked between being worried and being angry.
"Bella! Why did you just stand there rooted to the ground back at the pub?" scolded Ginny. "And the attack was just a few miles away! Thank God that they didn't come to Hogsmeade!"
Bella fiddled with the sleeve of her robe. "I…" she began but didn't finish. Ginny sighed deeply.
"Come on, let's go inside," she said softly. They went to the castle and immediately went to the common room. Once they got themselves comfortable, Harry stepped through the porthole.
"Hey," he said, but it was directed at Bella. "I saw your uncle at the gates. He was in the fight."
"Is he okay?" she asked nervously.
"He's just wounded. I think he got hit in the back. He was taken to the hospital wing," he replied softly.
Bella immediately stood on her feet and was about to head to the hospital wing when Harry held her back by catching the hood of her robe. "Like I said, he's still getting stitched up. Wait a while. The hospital wing is the closet medical center to the attacked area. It's most likely full and busy."
"Fine," she muttered before sitting on the floor next to Colin's chair. "You know," she began, "most students here act as if there isn't a war going on. I didn't know it was such a big deal…"
"Hogwarts is the safest place in England right now. Everyone feel safe here, Dumbledore said it was best to continue life as usual," said Ginny. The portrait door opened and Hermione and Ron stepped in.
"Ginny! Dad's in the hospital wing!" yelled Ron. "He was hit!"
"What?" gasped Ginny as she stood up. "How? When?" she asked, sounding worried and afraid. She ran up to the two.
"A curse," said Hermione. "We can't see him now. McGonagall said later."
Ginny bowed her head and turned to Bella. "When we go visit our dad, want to go? You can see your uncle." Bella nodded before leaning her head against the chair.
Hermione glanced at Bella. "Does she know?" she whispered.
Ginny shook her head. "I think it's best she doesn't know about her uncle." She said in an even lower tone.
Ron also took a quick look at the American before whispering. "He will either tell her or she'll find out."
OoOoO
"So, that's her?" asked Arthur as he laid in the white bed. Ginny looked up and followed her father's eye. He was looking at the bed Snape was sitting on. Bella was standing next to him as a Healer stitched the cut that ran down his back. Ginny shuddered. One, the potion's master was pretty bloody and two, he was shirt-less. That alone was rather revolting.
"Yeah," she replied looking back at her father.
"She looks very worried," Arthur added.
"He's all she has left," Ginny replied as she poured a glass of water for herself. "Students still make fun of her."
"Youths can be rather cruel," a new voice said.
Ginny spun around. "Mr. Lupin!" she cried out in surprise and joy. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I originally came here for a Wolf's Bane potion, and ended up fighting," replied Remus. "Arthur, feeling any better?"
"Yeah, I'll be back up in no time," the red head replied with a comforting smile.
Across the ward, Bella sat silently next to her uncle while Madam Pomfrey prepared him for the stitching. Bella would look over her shoulders every now and then. She would see Ginny and her father. And every time she would see the two, she felt a pang in her heart, but said nothing of it.
"Well, no infection, that's good," said the healer, as she looked at Severus' wound. She flicked her wand and all the dried blood that clung on the skin disappeared. She numbed the skin with a simple numbing cream and with a swish of her wand, perfectly made stitches closed the wound. The healer wrapped the wound and left to attended other patients after discharging the professor. Severus put his shirt on again. Bella moved her eyes and caught Ginny. The two waved at each other.
When Severus stood up, Bella stood too. When he left the hospital wing, Bella closely followed. The two said nothing to each other or to anyone else as they left. Bella trailed behind her uncle as he headed down to the dungeons. She stared at his back, wishing that they could talk. The last time they said more than two sentences to each other was when they both apologized to one another.
Her uncle was definitely different from her late mother. Her mom was warm and caring. She loved having talks with her mom. Uncle Severus was aloof, rather cold, and they hardly had any heart to heart discussions since she set foot on English soil. She gave a loud sigh, which made Severus twitch.
"If you are so tired, you don't have to follow me," he said, keeping his fast pace.
"Oh, no, no. I was just thinking," she replied hastily. "Hey, why were you at the battle?" she questioned. Bella didn't notice that her uncle had visibly paled. Severus was lucky he wasn't facing her.
"Ever since last year, the professors are required to partake in any attack that is near by," he replied rather coolly. It also sounded rehearsed.
"Oh," murmured Bella as they descended down he steps and into a torch-lit hall with no windows, giving the walls an orange glow. Even with the torches, the corridor leading to the potion classroom always felt unpleasantly cold. Stupid torches, cant even make this place a bit warm, she thought bitterly to her self.
Her uncle's footsteps stopped. They were in front of the door. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," he said as he opened the wooden door. "You may go."
"Okay," said Bella softly.
"Oh, I think it would be more appropriate to use more formal words when addressing me, or an elder," Severus said, stopping Bella. "Use manners, use 'sir', you may call me 'Uncle', but only outside of class. When class is in session, it is 'Professor Snape.'"
Formality my ass, Bella angrily thought, and was about to say, but decided at it would be in her best interest if she held her tongue. "Yes, Sir"
Severus gave her a small smile, which was rare for her, and for everyone else, and almost made up for the formality rule. Almost. "Good night," he said before stepping into the classroom.
"Good Night, Uncle Sev," she replied, turning back around.
The door opened again just as Bella headed up the stairs. "Never use 'Sev'," he said rather annoyed before shutting the door.
OoOoO
"Bella it's almost curfew, where the hell are you going?" yawned Colin as Bella headed towards the portrait hole. "You know the rules, plus with the attack, there are other people."
"Madam Pomfrey instructed me to check on my uncle's wound before I go to bed," replied Bella. "The other people are in the Great Hall, plus the nurse gave me a slip." She held out the piece of parchment. "I'll be back."
"Okay," Colin waved her off and walked back to the couch.
Bella briskly made her way to the lower level of the castle. She went into the classroom and towards the door that would lead to her uncle's private rooms. She knocked and called for him. When there wasn't an answer at first, she knocked again and stated why she was there.
"Uncle Severus! I need to check up on you! Nurse's orders!" she knocked again. She placed her hand on the knob and noticed it was locked. She looked around before taking her wand out of her pocket. "Alohomora!" she whispered. She heard it unlock and twisted the knob. She slowly walked in. "Uncle Severus?" she whispered. No answer.
The room was lit with two lamps and the fireplace's orange fire was blazing. But her uncle was nowhere to be found. She checked the living room, bedroom, bathroom, and even the closet. No sign of life other than herself. She noticed in the bathroom that the robes he had on earlier were in the laundry basket.
"Where the hell did he go?" she wondered out loud. "Maybe he went to Pomfrey himself," she reasoned. Bella took one last look around the place before leaving. She shut the door and locked it with a charm.
"He loves green way too much."
OoOoO
A/N: OMG! I'm going to the Anime Expo for ALL four days! SWEET! AND I'm going to have a midnight party for a sixth Harry Potter book with my friends at The Grove! OMG! The book comes out on my BIRTHDAY! Holy bloody crap! THAT SO WICKED! And I'm going to the east coast for some family stuff in August and while I'm there I'm going to the Warp tour concert with my FAVORITE cousins! THIS IS BLOODY COOL (even though I don't really listen to the bands that are playing at the concert…If only it was Asian Kung Fu Generation or Radiohead)! This is sooooooo going to be the best summer I've ever had (despite the summer homework)! Okay, have to go plan online w/ the cousins!
-lalathePanda