A/N: Yes, I am alive, so is my BETA-er. The two of us have been VERY busy, but here is the beta-ed chapter 7! Have fun and review please!
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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"We need a little patience, I will feel at ease
If you shoot me down in front of my door
Of I may worry up and down and cut my throat
Oh, nobody could act like me!"
-"O" by Love Psychidelico
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Thicker Than Water
By: LalathePanda
Chapter Seven: A Search For Sugar
The Gryffindor common room was filled with sugar high students the night of Halloween. Everyone had just got back from the feast and was still gorging upon large amounts of sweets. Bella had conjured up an American board game called 'Monopoly: Magical Edition'. First, most of them didn't understand the game but a few rounds into it; almost every table in the room had the board game on it.
"Bwahaha! You go to jail!" Ron laughed and pointed at his girlfriend. Hermione glared at him, and Ron stopped his laughing.
Ginny yawned and looked up at the clock. "It's past midnight, I'm going to bed…"
"Hey! It's too early! Stay up!" said Lavender as she paid some of the fake cash to Harry.
Ginny looked around, she was most likely the only one going to bed. "Whatever, good night!"
"Oh it's definitely a good night!" said Colin as he looked at his railroads.
Around two in the morning, people started to go back to bed. The very next morning, Bella found herself lying face down on the stone floor. Damn butterbeers and overly sugared candy…. She wasn't the only one sleeping in the common room. About twenty other students were all over the room, fast asleep; five were snoring very loudly.
She turned around onto her back.
She heard a bell and looked at the clock. Exactly six-o-clock, the clock read. No normal person would be up at this time on a Saturday. Then again, Bella is awake. Normal people can be up, that is if… wait… why am I thinking this…?
Bella yawned and got off the floor. Damn! My back is stiff! She stretched and headed towards the stairs. As she stepped on the stairs her stomach growled. It made a very loud growl.
"I guess sugar can't feed a empty stomach."
Bell looked up and saw Colin. "Hey, what are you doing up?"
"What about you?"
"Touché. Want to head down to the kitchens for a very early meal?"
"Teachers, Bella- wait, how did you know where the kitchens are? I've been here longer than you and I still don't know where the kitchens are!"
"First, the teachers are fast asleep! Halloween is like the biggest holiday in the Magical world all besides Christmas and New Years… wait those are the only holidays in the Magical world… And as for the kitchens, Ginny showed me where the kitchens are on my first week here, so ha!" She turned and head to the portrait hole.
"Coming or not?" she asked, turning around.
"I'm hungry, what do you think?" Colin replied sarcastically as he walked over to her scratching his behind.
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"Bella, admit it, your memory sucks," Colin told Bella as they passed by a portrait of a mermaid for the third time.
"Trust me! I know!" Bella looked at the walls. "I remember a painting…Crap! I think we're in the wrong hall."
"Oh really now?"
" Shut it, Colin, just follow me." Bella pulled Colin's sleeve and the made a turn. They continued to walk until Bella abruptly stopped.
"What's the hold up? It's it a deer?" Colin joked.
"Hush!" said Bella as she backed up slowly, pushing Colin behind her. They kept walking backwards until they were behind the corner.
"What is it?"
"Quiet!" she hissed.
They stood there, under the shadows of the wall. Soon footsteps were heard, two sets of footsteps. And they were coming closer. "Hide there!" Colin pointed to a suit of armor. The two dashed behind the metal suit just as the owners of those feet stopped at the same spot Colin and Bell stood only a few moments ago. The owners of the two sets of feet were Bella's uncle and Professor Moody.
"If I were you Serverus, I would be taking every precaution there is," said the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. "Constant vigilance!"
"I'm sorry, but I'm not that paranoid," Severus replied rudely.
"What you do is very dangerous, boy."
"Obviously."
"Hmm." Moody's glass eye twitched and moved. For a short moment, it was looking right at Bella and Colin before it went right back to Snape. "Does she know?"
"Who?"
"That niece of yours."
"Of course not. Why would she need to know?"
Moody shrugged. "Don't know, just asking." He turned his head a bit, at their direction but didn't look at them. "I've heard that incase of an attack very close to the school, the Ministry will allow sixth and seventh years to fight. Bella, she is in sixth year, no? Severus boy, you have many things to worry about."
Snape rolled his eyes. "Professor, I need to see the headmaster, and this chat you pulled me into is taking up my time, now, if you'll excuse me."
"Very well," he said and stepped a side. "Severus," he called, "That niece of yours might have questions."
"Just as long as she doesn't turn into a Potter or Granger."
Moody smirked. "Just as long as you have answers."
"Like I said, she doesn't need to know." And with that, Snape left.
Belle sat on the floor, stunned. "Bella?" Colin sat next to her. The two Professors were now out of sight. "Are you okay?"
Bella closed her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine." She stood up and brushed herself. "Now, how about some breakfast?"
Colin said nothing. He followed Bella and they found their way to the kitchen. As they ate, Colin noticed that the girl besides him looked very distracted and was not enjoying the crepe that she was eating.
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It was lunch. The warm fall afternoon was just too good to pass up, especially if it was in England. Most of the students took food from the tables and came outside to eat their meal and enjoy the afternoon. Harry Potter sat under a large tree that had wide branches, provided enough cool shade for him and his friends. Everyone was doing his or her own thing, whether it was playing Exploding Snaps or reviewing for a quiz, everyone was occupied.
Bella was on her back, staring up at the sky through the red and orange leaves. On her stomach, To Kill A Mockingbird, laid opened faced down. The lush green grass was angel soft and brushed against her skin. She laid her head on her book bag, her hair fanned out. Lavender sat next to her, Indian style, rushing through her herbology homework. Bella's mind, unlike the sky, was clouded with thoughts, mainly about her uncle.
"Do you know something about my uncle that I don't know about?" she asked Harry, who was sitting to her left. He visible stiffened. She turned her head just as Harry looked at her.
"He hates bats," Harry said after awhile. "Don't ask how I know."
Bella smiled. To her, it appeared that was all Harry knew.
"Why?" asked Harry.
"Just wondering." Harry nodded, satisfied with her answer. "Hey," she called out to Ron and Hermione, who were sitting against the tree, cuddling against each other. "You guys are too lovey-dovey, quit it," she joked.
"Aw, someone is jealous," teased Ron. Bella rolled her eyes.
"Am not."
"Right… Keep telling yourself that."
Bella rolled on to her side, the book falling off her. "What does my horoscope for today say?" she asked Lavender. Lavender finished her last homework problem and fished out a notebook from her bag.
"Great mysteries will present themselves to you today. Don't rush, and be patient, the answer will come in time. Um, ah! Love! Oh, not to good, no love for Bella today. Ah, advice! Stay away from bats and do not wear white." She closed the notebook. "Does that help you?"
"… No, I don't think so." Bella stared down at her uniform blouse. It was white. "Screw it, I'm so not changing."
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Bella slowly stirred the contents in the cauldron. "Okay, it's time to add the essence of Rosemary." Ginny poured it into bubbling mixture.
"The ingredients are more like items for a recipe," said Ginny as she crushed some ingredients in a bowl.
Bella sniffed the thick and chunky grey blue potion. "This would be one meal I would thankfully skip." Bella kept mixing the potion, which was a work out because it was so thick and chunky. "Oh, Ginny your apron is getting loose."
Ginny turned around and looked at the loose knot. "Thanks," she said as she retied it. Everyone wore these ugly aprons that got loose easily. The potion they were brewing today would easily burn any fabric (except the one the aprons are made out of); especially white colored fabric. When Bella heard her uncle say this, she thought back to what Lavender said but quickly dismissed it.
The lesson went by fast and not a single student spilt a drop of the potion. Ginny poured the potion into a vile while Bella cleaned up their work area. The bell rang just as Ginny came back to their desk. The two girls swung their bags over their shoulders and joined Colin. Bella looked back at her uncle, who as looking at the work areas to make sure they were clean and spotless.
That morning's encounter filled Bella's mind again. She hated when people kept secrets from her. First her parents keep her from the truth then her uncle. I wonder what it is. What the hell is he keeping from me? Is he a vampire? Is he a secret transvestite? What is it? Oh wizards, I'd rather have a vampire for an uncle… Hmm… a vampire uncle would be rather cool… just as long as he doesn't suck my blood…
"Um… Bella?" said Ginny, stopping the paler girl in her tracks.
"What?" she asked turning around.
"You might want to change that shirt of yours," said Colin. Bella looked down and saw that that her blouse was being eaten away by some green goo. Her skin was already starting to show. Bella swore loudly.
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The fall season gave away to winter. The air was cold enough to snow, but not one single snowflake had fallen on the ground yet. In a few days, winter break would start. Bella learned from Ginny that this would be her uncle's first time spending the holidays at a place other than Hogwarts in the past couple of years. Bella also found out that only she, Lavender, Colin and Luna were going home out of all her friends. Many students were split on where they should go. Go home to see your family or stay at Hogwarts where it's safe. Bella's plan was to spend the first week of the break, which included Christmas, in England and then go over to Virginia to spend it with Phoebe, which meant she would spend New Years Day over seas.
As the days grew closer to the last day before the break, many teachers assigned projects and gave out tests. Colin joked that they wanted their last days before the break to be hell. The day of departure for the holiday season came and Bella was standing with her friends, ready to board the train. Today was the coldest in the past two weeks. Everyone was bundled up in layers of clothing. The train gave a whistle and the students spending their holidays outside of the castle boarded the Hogwarts' Express.
They found a cabin and made themselves comfortable. Lavender was looking through a catalogue, Luna was reading up on the latest mysterious creature sighting, Colin was reading the Daily Prophet, while Bella busied herself with her Christmas list. She still needed to go shopping, in fact, she still hadn't gotten gifts.
"Oh, buggers, look who dampened our holiday break," said Colin as he laid the newspaper down for everyone in the space to see. "Five Death Eaters escape of Azkaban Prison last night," Colin began as his eyes scanned the page. "It is unknown yet how they escaped." He read to himself before he told everyone whom the Death Eaters were. Most of the names were unfamiliar to Bella, but one stuck. Malfoy. She knew from Harry and everyone else that Malfoy's father was in the prison because of 'suspicious activity'. She was surprised that he escaped the highly guarded prison.
"I wonder if Malfoy knows," Lavender wondered out loud.
"Maybe. Or maybe he doesn't," said Bella. Bella didn't show it, but fear shot through in her. The attack that took place in September was still fresh in her mind. She shuddered at the thought of being right in the middle of all the chaos.
"Cold?" asked Colin when he saw Bella tremble. Bella nodded and leaned back against the seat. While everyone was reading the newspaper, Bella turned her head a bit and stared outside the window. The train was just passing by a forest of dead trees just waiting to be covered with snow. An orange sun glowed from a far. Bella pulled her arms into her robes and hugged herself to keep her warm, it wasn't freezing inside the train, but she felt cold.
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"Where's my uncle?" Bella asked Rocky as Loopy took her trunk to her bedroom and Perry to the owlry.
"He is still at Hogwarts, Miss," replied the brown house elf as he led her to the kitchen. The house was already decked out with traditional Christmas decorations. Bella walked with Rocky, looking around at the place amazed. This was the first time she'd seen the castle with such color and life. They passed by the great room when something caught Bella's eye.
She walked back to the ajar doors and pushed them more. Her mouth dropped as the smell of fresh pine hit her nose. At the corner of the large room sat the largest Christmas tree she had ever seen. The tree was only a few feet shorter than the ceiling, but the ceiling was vaulting. In fact, the tree was much like the one Hagrid had on his shoulders could still fit in the room.
This tree was huge. It was elaborately decorated,gold and white ribbons striped the tree while real gold ornaments with rubies and emeralds hung gracefully from the boughs. Soft balls of lights where scattered around the tree, giving a soft glow. She looked down and saw some gifts already at theof the tree. She then drew her attention away from the Christmas tree and saw that the whole room was decorated too, just like the entrance and the hallways.
"Damn, and I came here expecting this place to look like Scrooge's house," she muttered to her self as she left the room. Rocky stood in the hall waiting for her.
"Does Miss like the tree?" he asked.
"Yes, it is beautiful. And the castle looks like it came straight out of a winter fantasy story." The elf nodded and led Bella to the kitchen. When the door swung open a different smell she wasn't expecting hit her. The sweet smell of cookies.
On the kitchen counter was a serving plate with warm, freshly baked gingerbread cookies and a large mug of steaming coco. "This is so not the castle I left a few months ago…"
Bella sat at the counter and took a cookie. She took a bite. "Crap, these are good." She took another bite. "Taste familiar too."
"Master owled and ordered Rocky to make these before Miss arrive," explained Rocky. Bella bit the cookie again, surprised at this. She would thank him when he arrives.
"Oh, when does my uncle come home?" she asked the elf.
"Tomorrow morning," the elf replied as he pulled out another tray of cookies from the oven.
"This is so going to be one heck of a Christmas," said Bella with a mouth full of gingerbread cookies.
The rest of the day, Bella spent it wandering around the festive castle (even her bedroom door had a Christmas wreath and red and green ribbons with holly were wrapped around her bedposts. Luckily, there was no mistletoe throughout the whole place), getting familiar with it again and unpacking her things.
When she got to her bedroom, she saw Loopy unpacking her stuff, but kindly asked the elf to stop and allow her to do it instead. The elf was about to cry before Bella assigned the elf to clean some her of dirty clothes. When evening rolled around she already received letters from Phoebe, Colin and Ginny and read them while eating dinner.
After dinner, she started on her easy assignments in the great room before going to bed at midnight. She woke up the next morning around nine. She lazily pulled on a morning robe on and slipped on slippers before entering her bathroom. She picked up her toothbrush and squeezed some toothpaste on it. As she brushed her teeth, the mirror kept making comments about her appearance.
"You must fix that monster you call hair!" said the mirror in it's busybody tone. "It looks like a bird made a nest in it! I hope it's paying rent!" The mirror didn't take the fact that she just rolled out of bed.
Who ever thought of a talking mirror that made comments like a gay guy in a fashion magazine must be insane and shall be shot to death, unless he or she is already dead and then revenge cannot be acted upon. Bella had to refrain herself from breaking the mirror (magical mirrors do use the seven years of bad luck thing). She slammed her bathroom door and shuffled out of her room.
When she entered the kitchen nook she jumped back in surprise. Sitting at the head of the table of her uncle, casually reading the morning edition of the Daily Prophet.
"When did you get home?" she asked after her shock disappeared. She took a seat at the table and yawned. Severus gave her his 'use-you-manners' look. "Excuse me," she muttered before grabbing a piece of toast and placing it near her cereal.
"An hour ago," he replied before turning the page.
"Why did you have to stay over night at Hogwarts?" she asked as she poured milk into her bowl of cornflakes.
"The faculty had one last meeting before winter vacation."
"Oh, um, I like how the castle looks."
"Thank the house elves."
"Okay. Oh! Those gingerbread cookies yesterday were really good. They taste awfully familiar though."
Severus paused before turning the next page. He then said in a voice softer than usual, "It was your mother's original recipe."
Bella hesitate for a moment. No wonder they tasted so familiar. Her mom used to bake those every Christmas. The last time she tasted them was when she was nine years old. Bella played with her spoon before using it to scoop up some cereal. After swallowing she said, "They're good. I want to learn how to bake them some day."
Severus looked up from his paper and then went back to reading. Breakfast was pretty much silent after that.
When Bella stood up to leave she heard her uncle say, "Her recipe is in the family cookbook. Top left cabinet."
Bella turned around to face her uncle. He looked straight at her before going back to his morning paper. Bella pulled her gaze from her uncle and looked at the two huge windows that were behind him. It was snowing.
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A/N: This is a beta-ed chapter, please read chapter eight!