Hello all! So, first, I want to apologize ahead of time. Classes have started back up for me so there may be long gaps between updates, but I promise I'm not giving up on this story. I'm just going to be prioritizing school, and will probably not have a lot of time to write. Second, I'm super excited to finally be in the POA. This year is where some important characters for the plot will be introduced, and it's the year that takes Vanessa where I need to take her. And I swear, no matter what, there's a point to everything I put her through. Thank you to all the wonderful reviews so far, I hope you continue to enjoy Vanessa's journey.
It wasn't. The first two weeks of the summer I was forced to tolerate Dumbledore in my home every day, listening to him talk about how important it was that my brother did not learn of who I was until the time was right. Apparently doing what the old man wanted just warranted more visits from him for me. That wasn't the only reason he visited me. During the course of those two weeks I had never been more grateful that I'd been training myself in occlumency.
I had to spend hours dancing around in my own head, throwing around mindless memories that gave away nothing about myself. At first he seemed to be mostly checking to see if I could remember anything from when I was younger, likely because of how hostile I'd become towards him. After the first week he started talking about the basilisk, and I knew immediately what he was looking for. It's not often two fourth years can take on a basilisk and win with as few injuries as we did. Having a conversation about the fight was a clever way to bring those memories to the forefront of my mind, and if I hadn't been aware of him digging through my head I wouldn't think anything of it.
I was extremely aware of him in my head. There was no good way to get around it, so the first day of his looking I made sure to throw the memories of Adrian, Cedric, and Harry in front of the others. The moment he left I started meditating, putting all of my focus into altering the memories in a way that both hid the truth and made a decent amount of sense. I could get away with a few discrepancies thanks to the panic fighting a basilisk would induce, but that was all.
Luckily, he seemed to buy it. I only wished I could do the same to him, but I would be found out before I even got a glimpse inside his head. Whatever he wanted from me, I couldn't figure it out. He knew I was dying, I'd hoped the satisfaction of that would get him to leave me alone. But it didn't, he kept on bugging me. The whole thing was nagging at my head even after he stopped coming by each day. What sort of game was he playing? My father thought nothing of it, and I couldn't really blame him. He didn't think Dumbledore was the best man in the world, but he did tell me he owed the older wizard a debt that he couldn't repay easily. Even my father was stuck in the man's clutches.
I'd hoped that would be the end of a dreadful summer, but just a few days before Harry's birthday the news broke. Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban. The Prophet had been dropped in front of me in the kitchen, as my father was in our brewing room. The moment I read the headline my eyes widened, my mug falling from my hands and breaking on the floor "Dad!"
I could hear him swear loudly before he came out of the room, taking in my pale face "What is it?"
I pointed down at the paper "Black. He's escaped."
While the man who was my godfather scared me a bit, I was more terrified for Harry's sake than anything else. I begged my father to have him stay with us for the rest of the summer, and after three hours of bugging him he relented. As long as I called over the, muggle thing. I was more confused by this device than anything else. My father's knowledge of it surprised me, especially when he pulled muggle money from his pocket. He put the money in some slot on the thing, pressing a few buttons and picking up a weirdly shaped device, putting it against the side of my head.
I jumped when someone's voice spoke in my ear, whirling around to try and find the person "Hello? Who is this?"
I swallowed nervously "Umm, hello? I don't-" I looked up at my father "Is there a person inside this thing?"
He shook his head, chuckling and pulling the device away from me to place it against his head "Hello, is this the Dursley residence?" He paused briefly "May I speak to Mr. Harry Potter?" He seemed to wince, pulling the thing away from his ear slightly. His next words were blunt "Mr. Potter, this is Professor Snape. Pack your things, Vanessa and I will be picking you up tonight. There's been a change in circumstances, and you're not safe where you are."
He put the device back where it hung before, taking me by the shoulder and directing us back home. I tried to be patient, but it wasn't easy. Thankfully, my father apparated us there, and I happily knocked on the door. It was a stiff woman who opened the door, her face paling considerably at the sight of my father "You? Vernon!"
I raised an eyebrow as the fat man came down the hall "What is it pet? Is it-" His face went red with anger when he looked at me "You! What are you doing here?!"
"Picking up Harry, of course."
Right on cue, Harry was bounding down the stairs with his trunk in hand "Vanessa, Professor Snape, why are you picking me up exactly?"
I cringed, realizing he probably had no clue who Black was. I decided to be gentle "One of You-Know-Who's followers has escaped from Azkaban."
His mouth opened in an 'o', and he slid his trunk out to the step in front of us "I just have to let Hedwig out. Where should I send her?"
"Spinner's End."
He nodded, rushing back up the stairs. I looked over at the woman, eyeing the sheer panic on her face and her reaction to my father. One look at him proved he wasn't friendly towards her "Dad, how do you know her?"
The look on his face told me he never would have said a word, but the woman spit the answer out with nothing but disdain "He was friends with my freak of a sister."
He let out a sneer, his eyes narrowing at the woman "Petunia. Just as cruel as you've always been."
Harry came bounding down the stairs again, slipping right past his aunt and uncle "Right, I'm ready."
If it weren't for the fact that my father was a trained wizard, they probably would have said something. As it was, they were silent as we stepped out of sight and to a point we could apparate from. Harry was certainly curious, looking around the home I grew up in when I wasn't at Hogwarts. My father was quick to start preparing dinner while I showed Harry around, leading him to the spare room we'd cleaned out for his stay with us. Our potions stations were moved down to the basement, and my father transfigured two spare chairs into a bed and a wardrobe for Harry. It wasn't much, but it would do.
Harry didn't seem to mind. He'd broken out into a smile once I showed him his room, and it didn't leave his face until we sat down for dinner. We'd been eating for five minutes before he brought up the dreaded question "So, not that I'm complaining, but who was so bad that his escape from Azkaban meant you had to come and get me?"
"Sirius Black."
His brow furrowed "I've heard quite a few names of Death Eaters in the past two years, his wasn't one of them."
I scoffed, annoyed at the fact he wasn't told "That's because he wasn't one."
My father gave me a pointed look, making me look down at my plate sheepishly "Black was one of your father's best friends. He was the one who sold them out to the Dark Lord."
Harry's face twisted in anguish, the understanding of his situation reaching him easily "He's going to come after me." We both nodded, and he stared at his fork in thought for a moment. Slowly, a steady resolve grew in his eyes "Then we'll just have to make it harder for him to find me."
I couldn't help smiling at him. His suicidal running head first into danger was slowly being squeezed out of him. The brief thought that it was rubbing off on me passed through my head, I certainly hadn't thought about it before jumping head first into the Chamber of Secrets. I shook the thought from my head as quickly as it came, focusing instead on the conversation my father was having with Harry.
We celebrated his birthday with a cake my father bought from a muggle shop down the road. Neither of us knew how to bake, so we went with the safest option. I was learning quite quickly this summer that my father knew more about the muggle world than I thought he did. Harry had to explain some of the things my father would talk about, and some other things just went straight over my head. I didn't get it. If my father knew these things, why didn't he ever teach me about them? When I asked he told me that Dumbledore asked that I be kept from the muggle world for my entire life. It was just another thing for me to resent.
We spent most of the summer inside, not wanting to leave too many chances for Harry to be seen nearby for Black to find him. I was grateful for that fact, but even I started to get restless being stuck inside all day. Eventually my father told us to go to Diagon Alley if we really needed to get out of the house. Harry being spotted there was far less dangerous, so we agreed. It was the 12th of August when we decided to go for the first time, and my father pulled me aside when Harry went to grab his pouch for Gringotts.
He seemed reluctant, but held up a small golden key for me "I was meant to keep this from you until the right time, but you're responsible enough. This is your vault key. I've never checked to see how much is in it, but the headmaster set it up with some of your parents funds for you."
At first I was happily surprised, but Dumbledore's involvement made me suspicious "Under what name?"
He frowned for a moment "It should be under Vanessa Snape."
I nodded, taking the key from his hand "Okay, but if it's not I'm blaming Dumbledore."
He shook his head at me, no longer questioning why I couldn't stand the man. He wanted to know from the first tantrum I threw when I was six, but by the time I started school he resigned himself to never knowing. I followed Harry to the fireplace, making sure he knew how to use the floo network before we left. To my surprise, he didn't. Nott's family had never used it in front of him last year, so he only knew what it was. In response, I shoved him into the fireplace, grabbing a handful of floo powder and stepping in beside him. I waved to my father before stating our destination and dropping the powder in front of us.
On the other side, Harry stumbled out in a coughing fit. I clapped him on the back and steered him towards the back exit of the Leaky Cauldron, tapping the pattern out on the bricks with my wand. We headed for Gringotts first, splitting up so Harry could make his withdrawal and I could secure my account for the first time. As exciting as it was, I made sure to try and show the goblins every bit of respect. It wouldn't do well to treat the creatures who hold control over my money as if they were dirt.
I made my way to a teller who seemed relatively available, waiting patiently for him to acknowledge me. Once he did, he gave me what felt like a condescending smile "How may I help you?"
I smiled nervously, holding up my key "I'm here about my vault. My father said it was made for me, but I'm not really sure how much is in it."
He took the key from my hand "Name please."
"Vanessa Snape." The key dropped from his hand as he hissed at the name, and he started frantically waving another goblin over. I couldn't help the worry that rolled over me "Sorry, what's wrong?"
He ignored me, handing the goblin my key and whispering to him. His head turned sharply to look at me before he waved his hand at me "Follow me." While following orders like that wasn't something I was pleased to do, I didn't have much of a choice. So I followed him to a hallway behind the tellers and into a room with a circular table in it. He pointed over to a chair facing the door "Sit."
I obliged, sitting in the exact chair he pointed to just to be safe. Once I was situated I looked to him "I'm really sorry, but what's this about?"
His face was hard to read "We've been rather disturbed by your account, Ms. Snape. The activity of it is quite abnormal."
My eyebrows raised "The activity? I've only just learned it exists today."
His lips turned down in what I could only assume was a frown "Yes, we assumed the account was made under an alias. No matter, we just need a blood test to confirm your identity and then we can sort out the problem."
He slid a small golden plate and a silver knife in front of me, not saying another word. I hesitated slightly before taking the knife and slicing my left palm open, allowing four drops of blood to land in the plate. With a wave of his hand the two objects vanished, and I was quickly reminded that goblins can use magic, even without a wand. A small piece of parchment appeared in front of him a moment later, and his eyes ran over it with a speed I could only ever wish for.
This time the frown on his face was palpable as he looked up at me "It is rare for someone to have two names. Do you prefer the Potter name or the Snape name?"
I scowled "Snape. I refuse to have anyone call me Potter."
"Very well, Ms. Snape, let us sort out your accounts."
My heart stalled "I'm sorry, accounts?"
He nodded "Unfortunately, Lily and James Potter disowned you from the inheritance before they died, but the vault they created for Amelia Rhoswen Potter was not theirs and therefore was sealed until such a time where you could access it." I gave him a wary nod, allowing him to continue "As such, the account under the name Vanessa Ivory Snape has been unusually active for an underage witch such as yourself."
That was something that bothered me immensely "Do you know who's been accessing it? It can't have been me, since I have never heard of either of these accounts before today."
He snapped his fingers, a manila folder appearing in front of him on the table. He skimmed through it, a sneer forming on his face as he read "According to record, Albus Dumbledore has had control over your account as he is your magical guardian. We've sent several letters of inquiry as to the frequent use of your account, but they're all returned unopened. Our hands have been tied from interference."
I'm sure my face was turning red from fury "Albus Dumbledore is not my magical guardian, Severus Snape is. Why has my account been so active?"
He seemed just as angry as I was at the news "The deposits made into the account are used to fund legislation in the Wizengamot. Up until March of this year, there was an oddly large amount made to fund legislation against the use of and users of archaic magic."
My hackles rose in outrage, the room starting to feel crackly "The old bastard has used my name to create ways to screw me over?"
"I was wondering if you would mention that." The anger in me was doused in a second as I realized what I'd said. I gave him a frantic look as he spoke "Dragonian, yes? They were once the only circles of witches and wizards that goblin-kind got along with." He sniffed slightly "In part, that is what he has used your name to fund. He has also used it to fund legislation against all manner of magical creatures, including goblins, werewolves, vampires, and centaurs. According to the Wizengamot, your name is one of the largest against anything that is not wizard or witch."
I hissed in annoyance "I want Dumbledore locked out of my account completely. I don't even want him to be able to look at my name on it." He agreed to it easily, and then another thought crossed my mind "Is there a way to have him suffer legal repercussions for using my name in a fraudulent manner?"
The goblin grinned menacingly at me "My dear, I was hoping you would ask." He turned towards the door and shouted "Bannott!" He looked back over at me "Gringotts itself cannot take action against someone's use of an account that does not belong to them, but in the case of the owner of an account requesting action be taken, we are given the chance to bring the legal hammer down on someone's head."
I nodded in understanding, realizing this could possibly take me all day "Umm, I came here today with my brother, Harry Potter. He only went to withdraw some galleons from his vault, so he's probably waiting for me. If it's possible, I don't mind him being in here with me, just as long as he doesn't find out about the whole Potter thing."
"Your brother does not know you are his sister?" I shook my head, making him sigh as another goblin entered the room "Very well, Bannott, please send Gugrak in and find a Mr. Potter in the lobby and bring him here. This is going to be a long meeting."
