Dislaimer: You know the drill, what's hers is hers, what's mine is mine.
A/N: I hope you've been enjoying the fanfic so far. I'll be adding little points of interest that are relevent to my life and to the story. Wot wot and cheerio.
Chapter Six: Hogwarts and a Cover Story
Christina woke up early the day they were to go to Hogwarts. Not hearing the boys voices or movements, she knew she was awake before they. Deciding a little pay back was in order, she crept out of her room and snuck into theirs. Taking a Filibuster's no heat wet start firework from their "secret" stash she placed a glass of water on the middle of their floor. Stepping outside their door, she used Wingardium Leviosa to levitate the firework over the glass of water. Then she ended the spell, so that the firework landed in the glass of water. The resounding boom woke both boys up with a start. They were frantically looking around to find the source of the noise, and while they were distracted with that, she made her escape to the dining room.
When she sat down at the table, she noticed a smile playing on her dad's lips.
"When they figure out what just happened, you're going to be in for it my dear, you've just declared war on your brothers,and believe me, they know some dirty tricks." He said as she sipped her pumpkin juice. Her smile quickly faded when she heard shouting upstairs. She only had to hear part of it before she scooted closer to Severus. All the way downstairs they could hear Harry and Draco.
"WHO IN THE BLOODY HELL DOES SHE THINK SHE IS." That was Harry.
"IF I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!" Draco.
"CHRISTINA YOU BETTER PRAY DAD'S UP" That was both of them. They came running downstairs, still in their pyjamas. Christina put on her best innoncent face, and Severus had to admit, he hadn't seen it's equal.
"What's wrong with you two?" She asked, and Severus envied her ability to keep a straight face.
"YOU FIREWORK US" Harry was so angry he couldn't speak straight. Christina just smiled at him.
"Come now boys, you know I don't like shouting at the breakfast table." Severus said in a mild way, sure he had internal damage from not laughing.
"This is war, I hope you know that."Harry said. Draco on the other hand had calmed down.
"Come one mate, you got to admit, it was a pretty good prank, and she did owe us one for all the times we woke her up early." Draco said digging into his breakfast. Harry calmed down enough to eat, but he still mumbled occasionaly, mostly about annoying older sisters. At quarter to 10 Severus told the boys to go get ready to leave for the station. As they were doing that, he explained to Christina how they were getting to Hogwarts.
"Usually I'd apparate, but that's not a very good idea with you, your owl, and your cat. So we're going to take a port key. We'll arrive right in the main entry hall of Hogwarts. Then we'll go to our quarters, unpack, and then you'll meet the headmaster." Severus said, before going upstairs to get dressed. Christina also went upstairs, she checked her bedroom to make sure she had gotten everything she wanted to take with her. Closing her trunk she called to her kitten, he immediately came, and was crated, which he didn't appreciate. Her owl, seeming to know the proper behavior of pets, hopped into his cage. She smiled at him and fed him an owl treat. She then used the levitating spell to get her trunk downstairs. She was met by Harry and Draco, who had their trunks shrunk and put in their pockets. She hugged them both goodbye, and Severus and they departed. Left alone in the house Christina stared into the side garden from a window in the dining room. She had never noticed it before, but there was a little statue of a woman and her small child almost hidden among the flowers. It brought a ghost of a smile to her face. Hearing the pop that marked her father's return she went into the living room.
"The boys are on their way. Let me shrink your trunk, hold tight to your animals, the portkey will be activated in about 45 seconds." Severus stepped as close to her as he could, and he held the portkey to her shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her, to be safe. When the portkey activated Christina felt as though there was a hook just behind her naval. She felt as though she had been pulled through the air. When it stopped she was in a grand hallway. Her father led her up several stair cases and down three corriders. He stopped in front of a portrait of a man brewing a potion and gave the password.
"Fuzzy Bunnies." Christina couldn't help it she laughed her ass off.
"Fuzzy... Bunnies... that's great..." She was ushered inside of a beautiful flat. The rooms were richly decorated. Severus led her down a hallway to a room at the end. He opened up the door to a large empty room.
"This is your bedroom, mine is across the hall, the bathroom is the second door on the left, my office is the first on the left, the library is the first on the right, and the family room is the second on the right." He said, then he pulled his wand from his robes. Motioning and muttering words, he conjured up the most beautiful room Christina had ever had.
The bed was large and very comfortable looking. The color scheme of the room was purple and pale pink, which proved he had been listening to her idle talk at dinner. The bedspread, the thick carpet, the curtains, and the walls were various shades of purple. The bedsheets, pillows and sham of the bed were pale pink, as was the trim in the room. The room also contained a large book shelf, a comfy looking pale pink couch, two purple arm chairs,a large closet, and a writing desk. There was also a fire place. Severus removed Christina's trunk from his pocket and returned it to normal size. He gave her a kiss on the forehead before heading to his own room to unpack.
Christina took all of her clothes out of her trunk and hung them neatly in her closet. She put all of her books on her bookshelf. She put the other school supplies on her desk. She let the kitten out of his crate, and opened the owl's cage so he could leave as he pleased. Then she took out her personal items. A jewelry box filled with both cheap and expensive jewelry. A photo album she had made her mom for mother's day last year, the stuffed cat her best friend had given her after the accident,her stack of photos, her yearbook from her senior year at high school, her diploma, and her mother's wedding and engagement rings. She put everything in it's place, and heard Severus calling her. She joined him in the living room along with an elderly wizard.
"Christina this is headmaster Albus Dumbledore." Severus said. She shook his hand and introduced herself.
"Christina Snape, pleased to meet you sir." Albus smiled.
"Your father has told me the circumstances behind your lack of appearance here at Hogwarts. Now we need to think of a cover story, so that our enemies won't know you are his daughter." He said, and he knew she was slightly upset at having to pretend she wasn't Severus' daughter, and Albus could tell that Severus dearly wanted to claim her.
"How about that I'm your great grand niece, visiting from America, seeing how British wizards live?" She asked, Albus' eye twinkled and Severus was astounded how quickly she had thought that up.
"That is a perfect idea my dear child, I guess you should call me uncle Albus, and you will be sitting with the teacher's in the great hall during meals, unless of course you make some friends that you would like to sit with." Albus said, his eyes twinkling more. "Now I understand you have a cat and an owl, what are their names, in the intrest of the story of course." Christina couldn't be sure, but she would have sworn the old man had just winked at her.
"My cat's name is Pudge(1), and my owl's name is Merlin." She said.
"Merlin, that's an interesting name, why did choose Merlin?" Albus asked.
"Because dad is always saying stuff like, 'In the name of Merlin, and for Merlin's sake, and Merlin I'm going to kill you three'. I just thought it'd be funny to know that he was saying all that about a bird." She told him laughing. Severus looked slightly unhappy at the fact that the joke was on him, but he had grown used to it.
"Alright, we're having a staff meeting, I'll be back later." Severus said kinda stiffly. He kissed her on the forehead, and in a flash of robes he was gone.
"Welcome to Hogwarts my dear child." Albus said, before following Severus.
(1): I actually had a white kitty with blue eyes named pudge. His mommy tried to give birth to him on my lap, the silly cat
