Rachel woke up early on her birthday. Her nightmares weren't as severe or as frequent as they had been in the past school year, but she still often woke in the middle of the night. Some nights she could fall back asleep, some nights she turned on her lamp and read, and some nights she just laid under her covers and thought about things.
This morning her thoughts were preoccupied with Death Eaters and Peter Pettigrew.
It was a little discomforting to realize that there were Death Eaters who even Severus and Professor Dumbledore didn't know who they were. Until Severus had explained otherwise, she'd pictured them as a cohesive group, sort of like a secret club. It was a little scarier to think of them each as individuals, all with their own plans and motives, some of them never even having been suspected of being Death Eaters. After all, it seemed like no one had known Peter Pettigrew was a Death Eater.
Peter Pettigrew was a whole different matter entirely. She was glad he wasn't interested in coming after her, but what was he doing instead? Surely whoever had broken him out of the Ministry holding cells had put together a plan, or had some sort of purpose that required Pettigrew, otherwise he would have just been sent to Azkaban to be with the other Death Eaters who were already there.
It seemed almost impossible to find someone who could turn into a rat, which made Rachel even more convinced that becoming an animagus was a good idea. If the Dark Lord came back, maybe she'd have to hide.
Theo had written out the first of the meditation exercises from the animagus books into their two-way books. They had all agreed that doing the first steps wouldn't hurt anything and they could back out at basically any time.
The first meditation exercise involved being aware of your body and focusing on different parts of it in order. Rachel felt like she could do some of it. She'd close her eyes and she could feel where her eyelids were closed and how her eyes moved around beneath them. She could feel her lips touching each other. She could feel her chest rise and fall as she breathed. She could feel the steady beat of her pulse. Beyond that she had trouble. She knew her stomach and arms and legs were out there somewhere, but she couldn't find any sensation to connect herself to them. Even the weight of the blankets against her skin seemed unreal.
Rachel tried doing the meditation for twenty minute intervals and sometimes found herself accidentally falling asleep in the process. Today though she just watched as the sky slowly became lighter through her window. She had never gotten around to asking Severus for curtains.
She almost had all of her summer homework done. Severus had given her two books on antidotes to read from his collection and it had taken her the better part of a week to read through them and summarize the important parts in her two-way book. She had half of her essay written and planned to do the rest tomorrow.
This evening she was going with Severus to Neville's house for dinner. She always felt a little bit uncomfortable around Neville's Gran. There was something about the way Neville's Gran looked at her that felt like she was being rather harshly judged and found wanting. She imagined Neville must feel that way all the time.
Rachel waited until Severus went downstairs before she got up and went to take a shower. She put her hair in a plait so that it wouldn't be too messy by the time they went to see Neville and then went downstairs.
"Happy birthday," Severus said, looking up from the newspaper.
"Thank you," Rachel said. From what she could see of the front page, the Daily Prophet was still covering Pettigrew's escape.
"Would you like bacon, eggs, and pancakes?" he asked.
"Yes, please," she said. It had become a sort of traditional birthday breakfast for her.
"Have a seat, it will be ready shortly," Severus said, putting down the newspaper and going to the fridge.
Rachel idly turned the pages of the newspaper, wishing that Severus would let her do something for his birthday. She had asked him a while ago when his birthday was and he had told her that he did not care to celebrate or acknowledge it. As bad as her time with the Dursleys had been, she wondered a little if Severus hadn't had it just as bad growing up if he wouldn't even acknowledge that he had a birthday.
"Here you go. There's cake for later," he said, placing a plate down in front of her. He had his own plate, but with no pancakes.
"Thank you," Rachel said, eagerly taking a bite of her bacon. "How do you always have a cake ready? I never see you make it."
"I bake it the night before your birthday, after you go to bed," Severus said.
"You don't have to stay up late to do that for me," she said.
"I don't mind, don't worry about it," he said.
Rachel shrugged and took a bite of her pancakes. She wished not worrying was as simple as just not worrying.
Severus shooed her away when she tried to wash her own dishes after they'd eaten and then directed her to the sitting room so she could open presents.
Rachel sat on the couch and waited until Severus was sitting down in his armchair before she reached into the box of presents.
The one on top was from Severus and was an old book of potions instructions. Rachel flipped through and realized that Severus had annotated the instructions.
"Most of these are advanced brews that are not in the Hogwarts curriculum. If you'd like to, we can brew them together," Severus explained.
"I'd like that," Rachel said, smiling at him. "Thank you."
"I will also take you to the bookstore so you can pick out whatever you'd like, as well as take you on a shopping trip to muggle London so you can pick something in addition to new clothing," he said.
"Thank you, that sounds great," she said, setting the book aside and turning back to the box of gifts.
The first one she picked up was from Hermione and unsurprisingly it was books. It was a box set of five books called The Belgariad by David Eddings. Rachel happily set it aside, eager for a new adventure to read since she'd read every book she currently owned.
From Millie - with a note from Theo that he must have given her before school ended - was a box of chocolate frogs and hardcover journal. Theo's note read 'I know diaries aren't really our thing, considering everything, but a journal is different, right? Happy Birthday!'
Rachel thought she could use the journal for writing about things other than her day to day life and that would probably be okay. She'd have to use the same spell that they used to password lock their two-way books though - she didn't think anyone in her dorm would read it, but it didn't hurt to be on the safe side.
Ginny had sent a box filled with different homemade chocolates and fudges. Rachel thought that once they were finished at Hogwarts, she and Ginny should get together and trade dessert recipes - she still remembered many of the ones she'd made for the Dursleys.
Luna had sent her an animated drawing of the group around their table in the study room. Rachel was writing in a book, while Millie used the Engorgement charm on an apple, Hermione was pushing her hair away from her face while she was reading, Ginny and Luna were bent together over a piece of parchment, and Theo was in the background with Neville, both of them casting spells. Crookshanks, Midnight, and Trevor were all in the picture too. Luna was really talented at art.
Hagrid had sent her a book about the care of creatures with regards to magical ingredients. Rachel didn't think she wanted to be able to harvest magical ingredients from creatures, but it would be an interesting read regardless.
Sirius had sent her a letter, which she put aside to read later, and what appeared to be a pocket knife with various attachments.
"I'm sure I don't have to tell you to use that carefully to avoid injuring yourself with it," Severus said.
"I'll be careful," Rachel said, putting it with the letter so she could examine all of the pieces later.
She felt that she was lucky to have Severus and such good friends. It seemed amazing that they had all found each other. Rachel collected her things, wanting to read Sirius' letter in private and then take time to write thank you letters and a reply to Sirius.
"If you need anything, I'll be in the cellar," Severus said.
"Thanks," Rachel said, smiling at him with gratitude. She was very lucky.
"There's a short time before dinner. Neville, you can show your guest what you've been doing in the greenhouse," Neville's Gran instructed.
"Yes Gran," Neville said, glancing at Rachel.
Rachel looked at Severus, who nodded his permission, and then followed Neville out of the room. They went through the long hallway, portraits busily whispering and watching them, and then into a room that had an exit into the yard.
"I'm glad you could come, although I wish we could have our birthdays with all of our friends," Neville said, seeming to relax a little once they were out of the house.
"Me too, but we'll be able to once we're grown and have left Hogwarts," Rachel said. "That seems so far away, but we'll already be fourth years this year."
"That's true. Whatever we do, we have to keep Hermione from remembering that we have our OWLs next year," Neville said with a smile.
"I think she'd have to be hit in the head with a Bludger to forget a thing like that, and maybe not even then," Rachel said. "Theo can always remind her that she promised not to start worrying about our OWLs until after our end of year exams for this year."
"I don't think she'll stop worrying about them, but at the very least we don't have to review for them yet. I don't know how we're going to manage our fifth year," Neville said. He opened the door to the greenhouse and they stepped into the humid space.
"We'll figure it out," Rachel said. "Oh, I have your birthday present. Professor Snape said shrinking it wouldn't harm it."
Neville waited as she pulled a package from her robe pocket and then tapped it with her wand to unshrink it.
"Bougainvillea glabra vine starters. You can use their petals and the vine bark itself in potions. Thank you," he said, accepting the package from her.
"I wasn't sure what you had in your greenhouse, so I tried to pick something that was both useful and looked nice," Rachel said, watching as Neville examined the leaves.
"I don't have any of these. I'll get them settled for tonight and make a place for them tomorrow. I have a gift for you too, but I'll need my hands. Come this way and I'll show you what I've been doing this summer," Neville said.
Rachel followed him deeper into the greenhouse, both of them stopping every so often so Neville could tell her about a plant.
"Our greenhouse is more of something that was put together for viewing plants, rather than using them in potions, but there's plenty of useful things in here. My great grandfather, Antonius Longbottom, was the one who planted many of the older plants that you see," Neville explained as they reached a workspace. He settled the vine starters Rachel had given them and watered them before wiping off his hands and reaching into the pocket in his robes. "I don't actually know if you'll like this, it was my Gran's idea. She said that I should get something appropriate since you're a young lady."
"I'm not sure how a gift would be inappropriate, unless it was dungbombs. But I bet the Weasley twins would love to get a package of those," Rachel said.
"Well, I was going to get you a book, but my Gran felt that wasn't appropriate. I hope you like this anyway," Neville said, handing Rachel a small box with a ribbon around it.
Rachel untied the ribbon and opened the hinged box to find a fine silver chain with a pendant on it that had a blue flower inside the glass. She held it up to see it better in the light of the greenhouse. "It's very beautiful, thank you," she said.
"It's a larkspur, which is the birth flower for July," Neville explained.
Rachel set the box down on the workspace table and carefully fixed the chain around her neck and arranged it so the pendant rested just below her collarbone. "It's too nice for everyday wear, but it is very pretty," she said.
"It is. I've noticed that you wear a silver bracelet, and I thought the chain would match," Neville said.
"Professor Snape got this for me for my birthday last year, it's charmed for protection," she said, touching the silver bracelet that was almost always around her right wrist.
"Do you think we should get the other girls in the study group jewelry for their birthdays?" Neville asked.
"Luna might appreciate it, she seems to wear jewelry quite frequently, but I think for the others they'd prefer sweets or books or more practical things," Rachel said after considering it for a moment.
"That's what I thought too," Neville said with a nod. "My Gran is just a bit old fashioned."
"Apparently Draco's father is too. Theo's father picks out a birthday gift for Draco to be from Theo every year so that it's something appropriate, which usually seems to be fancy robes and gemstones and things like that. I think Draco would rather get stuff for Quidditch or books that he was interested in," Rachel said.
"He probably would. Gran insists on getting me nice robes and things like that, even though I can't wear them at Hogwarts and I don't wear them most of the summer because I'm out here in the greenhouse," he said. "We should probably go back in soon, we don't want to be late for dinner."
"Oh, before we do, there's something I wanted to tell you, although you might know already," Rachel said. She'd been waiting to do this for a while, it was hard to get time alone with a single person when they were always with their study group. "Did you know that your mother is my godmother?"
Neville looked surprised. "I didn't know that, Gran never said."
"According to Sirius, if he wasn't able to take me, I was supposed to have lived with you after my parents died," Rachel explained.
Neville looked away for a moment. "I wonder why you didn't come live with us, at least for a time. I mean, it was nearly two months after your parents died that my parents were attacked."
"I don't know. Professor Dumbledore was the one who placed me with my relatives," Rachel said.
Neville looked at Rachel, his eyes searching hers. "I know my Gran is difficult, but I think you probably would have been better off living with us, rather than with your relatives."
"I think you're probably right. And at least then we would have had each other for company, we'd nearly have been twins," Rachel said, reminding herself that it was pointless to wish for what could have been. And things were better now. She had Severus to watch out for her.
"I'm glad we became friends at Hogwarts," Neville said.
"Me too," Rachel said.
"We should go in, before we're late," he said, looking slightly regretful.
"Okay," Rachel said. She collected the box that had held her necklace and tucked it into her robe pocket and they made their way back out of the greenhouse. "I don't think I've ever shown you the photo album that Hagrid gave me. There's a photo you should see sometime. It's of our parents, and our mothers are holding us."
"I have seen that one actually, my Gran has a copy in one of her photo albums," Neville said. "She might have been the one to give a copy to Hagrid for your album."
"That's good. I'm glad you have it," Rachel said. At the very least it seemed that Neville's Gran didn't keep his heritage from him.
They arrived in the dining room to find Severus and Neville's Gran already seated, Neville's Gran at the head of the table and Severus sitting three seats down, with the two remaining chairs obviously for Rachel and Neville.
"Neville, be a gentleman and hold Rachel's chair for her," Neville's Gran said when they reached the table.
Rachel glanced at Neville, who looked equally uncomfortable, and he carefully pulled back the chair next to Severus. Rachel sat and decided this was another of the old fashioned things that she didn't understand.
Neville sat down next to her and a moment later plates of salad arrived.
"Did you have an enjoyable walk in the greenhouse, Rachel?" Neville's Gran asked.
"Yes, Ma'am. It's very beautiful there. Neville does a good job of caring for the plants," Rachel said, glancing down at all the silverware and remembering what Severus had taught her before the first time they'd had dinner at the Longbottoms - start with the silverware farthest on the outside and make your way in.
"I see you're wearing your birthday present. Do you like it?" Neville's Gran asked.
"Very much, I didn't know that months have flowers," Rachel said.
"Neville picked it out for you. He thought the blue flowers would go well with your complexion," Neville's Gran said.
Rachel didn't know what to make of that and glanced at Neville, finding his face red with embarrassment.
"I believe Rachel gave Neville some Bougainvillea glabra vine starters. A fine addition to any working greenhouse," Severus said.
"That's lovely. It's important for a young lady to be interested in a man's work," Neville's Gran said. "It's never too early to think of the future. Rachel, do you believe you will pursue a career in potions?"
"I'm not sure yet, Ma'am. There are a lot of opportunities to consider," Rachel said, deciding that this was definitely not the place to mention Quidditch as a possibility. "A Potions Mastery is definitely an option, but I think I would also enjoy a Mastery in Charms or Ancient Runes."
"Either would be a credit to you. Neville is quite set on doing a Mastery in Herbology. Severus, I trust his Potions grades will not be an issue," Neville's Gran said.
"Neville has shown a marked improvement in brewing potions. I expect that if he continues to show such dedication to his studies he will be in a good position to continue into my NEWT class," Severus said.
"Good. His grades at Hogwarts were more than I could have hoped for. I've been gratified he's been applying himself with Rachel to their studies. Like I said, it's never too early to think of the future and to make plans. Wouldn't you agree, Neville?" Neville's Gran asked.
"Yes, Gran," Neville said.
Rachel glanced at Severus. This was definitely the weirdest dinner she'd ever been to and they were still eating salad.
Severus sighed to himself as soon as they'd finished apparating back home. He'd been to much worse dinner parties in his time, but he suspected that one had been particularly uncomfortable for Rachel, and for Neville undoubtedly.
Rachel looked up at him, seeming to formulate her words before she spoke. "Was it just me, or was that a little weird?" she finally asked.
"Yes, it was. If I had known Augusta was going to be so forward I would have warned you in advance," Severus said. "Would you like some cake?"
"Sure," Rachel said.
They'd had a light meringue for dessert at the Longbottoms, but Severus suspected that Rachel would prefer an actual birthday cake. He led the way into the kitchen and cut each of them a slice of the chocolate cake he'd baked yesterday. It was simple, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, but Rachel didn't seem to mind the simplicity.
"What does Neville's Gran want?" Rachel asked as Severus set a piece of cake down in front of her at the kitchen table.
Severus sat down across from Rachel. "She wishes for me to join her in arranging a marriage contract between you and Neville," he explained.
Rachel dropped her fork and ducked down to get it, her face flushed pink when she sat back up. "A marriage contract? But we're just barely fourteen. Do people really do that?"
"It used to be much more common, especially among pure-blood families, but it has fallen out of favor in most circles in recent years. Augusta's marriage to Jacob Longbottom was arranged by their parents," Severus explained.
"Why would she want Neville to marry me? I'm not even a pure-blood," Rachel said, still looking worried.
"You may not have realized this yet, but you will likely hold a lot of sway in the Wizengamot once you are old enough to take your seat. However, you don't need to worry, I have no intention of arranging a marriage for you, to Neville or to anyone else," he said.
"My seat on the Wizengamot? What does that mean?" she asked.
Severus sighed again. Of course no one had told her about that. He supposed Albus had never found the time or opportunity, and Severus himself had forgotten that she wouldn't know. "I take it Binns hasn't reached the Wizengamot in his class yet?"
"Not the current version, just that it used to be the Wizards' Council before the Ministry of Magic was established," Rachel said.
"The Wizengamot is composed of sixty seats. They are a court of law and governance, acting both in legal cases that are brought to the Ministry and in the creation and modification of the laws that govern our society. When the Wizengamot was first founded it was, as you said, a continuation of the Wizards' Council. Seats were held by the most powerful families and could be won in duels to the death. These seats were passed down through families, the head of the family taking the seat in each generation. Throughout the centuries some families have completely died out. Those seats used to be decided by Wizengamot vote, though that changed in 1882 and they are now decided by a vote among the populace of wizarding Britain. Thirty seven seats are still passed down through families. Lucius Malfoy holds a seat this way, as does Augusta Longbottom. The remaining twenty three seats are decided by elections once every seven years, at the same time as the elections for the Minister. Amelia Bones, the aunt of your classmate Susan Bones, holds an elected seat," Severus explained.
"And the Snow family has a seat?" Rachel asked.
"Yes, Albus has been holding it for you until you finish at Hogwarts and are of age. To qualify to hold your seat you must be at least seventeen years of age and have received at least one NEWT," Severus said.
"And Neville's Gran wants us to get married because she thinks that it would give her family more power?" Rachel asked.
"Partially. I think what she wants most is to provide a good and stable future for Neville, even though she's going about it the wrong way," Severus said. He could empathize with that on some level. It was difficult to figure out what was best to do for your child.
"I don't think Neville wants to marry me. I don't want to marry him. He's my friend," Rachel said.
"You certainly do not have to marry him, or anyone else for that matter. If, later on, you decide you wish to date Neville, I will certainly not stand in your way, but it is your choice," he said.
"I don't think I want to date anyone," Rachel said, using her fork to make small slices in her piece of cake.
Thank Merlin for small mercies. Severus wasn't sure he was ready for Rachel to start dating either. "That's fine. You're still very young and will have plenty of time for dating later when you feel like you want to. If anyone is bothering you to date them and you do not wish to, please tell me and I will deal with them," he said with a nod.
"I don't think that will be a problem," she said.
"But if it is, let me know," Severus insisted. He would not have anyone harassing Rachel while she was at Hogwarts.
Rachel nodded. "Why didn't Professor Dumbledore place me with the Longbottoms after my parents died? Neville said that his parents weren't attacked for months after my parents' deaths."
Severus decided that Rachel was old enough for at least some of the truth. As for the rest, he didn't want to place that burden on her yet. "Because of the way your mother died, you were granted a powerful protection from her - a type of blood magic. One of the reasons you were placed with your relatives is because your aunt shares your mother's blood. While you were living with her, you could not be attacked by the Dark Lord in her home. It was the safest place for you in that regard," he said.
"Then why did Professor Dumbledore allow you to adopt me?" she asked.
"Because Minerva and I convinced him that your well-being and your ability to cast magic were more important than the safety that the blood wards provided," Severus said, watching Rachel closely.
She looked down. "I couldn't have told you then how bad things were with my relatives. I mean, even if I could have spoken, I wouldn't have known how to tell you."
"I understand," Severus said. His own situation had not been as dire as Rachel's, but he well remembered coming to Hogwarts and discovering that not all families were like his.
"I don't say this enough, but thank you for adopting me," Rachel said, glancing up to meet his eyes briefly. "I don't know what I would have done if I'd been sent back there."
"I don't expect gratitude for adopting you, Rachel," he said.
"No, but really. You basically saved my life," she insisted.
"I did what anyone with any sense of morality would have done in the same situation. And if I had not been able to adopt you, I would have done whatever I could to ensure you were placed with a family who would care for you," Severus said.
"I'm glad you adopted me," Rachel said.
Severus nodded slightly. "I am glad too." It was a little strange to realize how accustomed he'd become to having Rachel around. He was glad that Rachel seemed to be doing a bit better this summer, though he suspected she was still waking early from nightmares considering how often he heard her get up directly after he went down the staircase. But she seemed more confident and more settled, and she smiled more often than she used to.
Rachel began to eat her cake. "This is good. Where did you learn to make cake?"
"Franklin Hodges, the man who apprenticed me for my Potions Mastery. I spent the first three months cooking and baking, as he considered them critical skills for anyone who was serious about brewing potions," Severus explained. He had hated and resented it at the time, but he had learned from it as well.
"My study group talked about that a little bit, about how cooking and brewing potions is similar in a lot of ways," Rachel said.
"Experimenting with cooking is much safer than experimenting with potions and teaches some of the same skills, the primary of which is observation. In order to brew successfully, or to invent potions or methods of brewing, you have to be aware of every minute change and what effect it can have on the entire process," he said. "Tonight, when you indicated that you might be interested in doing a Potions Mastery, were you serious or did you say that to appease Augusta?"
"Serious in that it's a possibility. I really haven't decided anything yet," Rachel said.
"That's fine. I do not want you to do a Potions Mastery just to please me. Whatever you do, I want you to do it because it's something you want to do," he said.
Rachel nodded. "I like brewing potions, I just don't really know what I want to do yet. Do you think Neville knows that his Gran wants to set up an arranged marriage for him?"
"I don't know," Severus said.
"Do you think it would be a bad idea for me to tell him?" she asked.
"No. It's his life, he should be aware of what forces are attempting to influence it," Severus said.
"I'll find a way to speak to him privately," Rachel said, going back to her cake. "This is really good cake. Do you think you can teach me the recipe?"
"If you'd like," Severus said. He supposed it wasn't too early to start with the cooking lessons he had received in his Mastery if Rachel really was serious about doing a Potions Mastery.
On Wednesday Rachel and Severus went to Diagon Alley in the late morning. Rachel was planning to meet up with Neville, Millie, and Luna in Flourish and Blotts at noon, but they had a number of errands to run before then. Unfortunately Hermione was away on a vacation in Greece and wouldn't be back until Friday, Ginny said that her family was going shopping later in August, and naturally Theo couldn't come because they didn't want to bump into him while he was with his father.
After stopping at Gringotts, Rachel and Severus went to Madam Malkins, where Rachel was fitted with new robes and also purchased new uniforms. Being fitted was still uncomfortable - Rachel didn't like having someone she didn't know well that close to her - but it wasn't uncomfortable the same way it had been just before her first year when she really hadn't known what to expect.
They made several more stops in Diagon Alley and purchased parchment and quills, a potions refill kit, chocolate frogs, jelly slugs, and sugar quills, and two rolls of film and two packets of photo paper. At the same shop where Rachel purchased the film and photo paper she picked out a thick leather bound photo album that would go well with the one Hagrid had given her.
Even though they were a little bit early getting to Flourish and Blotts, they arrived at the same time as Luna and her father.
"Rachel, it's good to see you," Luna said with a bright smile. "I don't believe you've met my father. This is Xenophilius Lovegood, editor of The Quibbler. Daddy, this is Rachel Snow and Professor Snape."
Rachel looked up at Luna's father. He was tall, with dark grey eyes and shoulder length hair the same light blond as Luna's. "It's nice to meet you, sir. I wanted to thank you for the article you wrote about Rita Skeeter, it was very good," Rachel said.
Mr. Lovegood peered down at her. "Think nothing of it. Luna mentioned Skeeter was acting very suspicious and I thought that was quite smart of her to see past Skeeter's disguise. Skeeter does seem to be rather fixated on you, though. Fortunately there are people who are smart enough not to believe everything they read."
Rachel had no idea what to say to that so she just smiled.
"And the inimitable Professor Snape. There have been plenty of rumors about you as well, however Luna tells me you are one of the most forthright professors that she has. I understand that you've adopted Rachel, quite an undertaking that," Mr. Lovegood said.
Severus hesitated for a moment. "It's nice to meet you as well, Mr. Lovegood. Luna does well in my class, though she should focus more on her cauldron and less on daydreaming in class," he said.
"Are daydreams not the mind's way of opening the door to what may be possible?" Mr. Lovegood asked.
"Perhaps, but not in class," Severus allowed.
Mr. Lovegood laughed as though Severus had told a very funny joke.
"Rachel, let's go look for our books. My list is quite long," Luna said.
Rachel glanced at Severus for permission and joined Luna when he nodded.
"My father seems to like Professor Snape, that's a good sign, don't you think?" Luna asked as she led the way further into the bookstore.
"Sure," Rachel said. She thought Severus was just as confused by Luna's father as she was. "What electives are you taking?"
"Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Ancient Runes," Luna said, stopping to pick up the two introductory texts for Ancient Runes. "I'm looking forward to them. We'll be back at Hogwarts in less than a month."
"That's true. Summers do go by pretty quickly," Rachel said. They stopped in the Charms section, Rachel picking up The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, while Luna picked up Grade 3 of the same series. "I wonder what it will be like having an auror as our Defense teacher."
"I suspect he will know a lot that won't be in the textbook. I think being an auror is more of a thing you experience," Luna said.
Most of what Rachel knew about aurors came from the Horath Bogtrotter series, where Horath was a young auror hunting dark wizards, but she thought really being an auror would have to be quite different. "He probably knows a lot of spells," Rachel said.
"There you are! I saw Professor Snape and I knew you were in here somewhere," Millie said, coming around a shelf.
"Hi Millie," Rachel said, smiling at her friend.
"Hi, to both of you. I can't believe it's been a month since I've seen you. Summers are so boring," Millie said. "I actually want to study."
"There's always summer homework," Luna said.
"Already did it. My dad keeps joking that I've turned into a bookworm from being at Hogwarts," Millie said. "Anyway, hopefully Neville will be here soon. My dad is fine with us going to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch as a group."
"Defense section is just over there, let's see what our new professor picked out for us," Rachel suggested.
They went to the Defense section and each took a copy of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.
"Very spell focused. Well, the new professor can't be as bad as Lockhart," Millie said as she flipped through the pages.
"It's hard to imagine a worse professor than Lockhart," Rachel agreed. "What other sections do you need to go to, Luna?"
"Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Potions," Luna said, looking at her list.
"Did Hagrid assign you The Monster Book of Monsters too?" Millie asked.
"Yes, he did," Luna said.
"Let's save that one for last," Rachel said. That way she could ask Severus to remove the Alivening charm on it.
They made their way around the shop, doubling back to pick up The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4 for Millie, and then went to the front where the Care of Magical Creature books were located.
"Oh, how sad. They took the spells off," Luna said, picking up one of The Monster Book Of Monsters. It was completely still. "I'll ask my father to fix it when we get home."
"Sorry I'm late," Neville said as he hurried up to them, his Gran a few feet away as she talked with Severus.
"No problem, good to see you," Millie said.
"Neville, why don't I show you where our new books are and then we can all get lunch at the Leaky Cauldron," Rachel suggested.
"Okay, we'll get checked out and meet you up front," Millie said.
Rachel led Neville back to the Defense section. Really she had just wanted a moment to speak with Neville alone. She picked up the assigned Defense book and handed it to Neville. "Did your Gran tell you why she was acting so weird a few days ago?"
Neville looked confused. "No, why?"
"Severus told me that she told him she wants to arrange a marriage contract between us," Rachel said quietly.
"I swear, I didn't know," Neville said. "I'm sorry."
Rachel shook her head. "There's nothing for you to be sorry for, you didn't cause this. And you don't need to worry about it either, Severus already told her no. I just thought you would want to know why she was acting like that."
Neville sighed. "What am I supposed to do?"
"I'm not sure you need to do anything at this point, and if your Gran tries it with someone else, we'll find a way to get you out of it," Rachel said. Worst case scenario, if Neville was forced to marry someone, he could get divorced. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.
"If she tries to marry me to someone else, I'm telling her no," Neville said firmly, his jaw set.
"Good," Rachel said. "You should get to choose who you marry, if you want to marry anyone at all."
"I might, some day, but right now I just want to focus on school and have friends," Neville said.
"Me too," Rachel said. "Let's go get your other book so the others don't come looking for us."
"Thanks, for telling me," Neville said, meeting Rachel's eyes. "Now that I know that, a lot of the things she's said make sense."
Rachel nodded. "I didn't tell anyone else, but you can if you want to."
"No, I'll deal with my Gran," Neville said.
"Okay, but ask me for help if you need to, I'm sure Professor Snape knows how to deal with this sort of thing," Rachel said, gently touching him on his arm.
Neville gave her a small smile. "Thanks."
It was raining when Rachel and Severus apparated to Devon for Ginny's birthday party on Saturday.
Severus immediately used the Umbrella spell and held his wand up so that the spell kept most of the rain off them. Rachel knocked on the front door and a few moments later Mr. Weasley opened it.
"Severus, good to see you, come on in," Mr. Weasley said, then looking down. "And Rachel Snow, yes, come in."
"Good to see you, Arthur," Severus said as they stepped inside. "I'm not sure you've met Rachel yet."
"I haven't," Mr. Weasley said, holding out his hand.
Rachel shook it. "It's nice to meet you sir. I'm glad to be friends with Ginny."
Mr. Weasley smiled. "No need to call me sir. We're glad to have you here, Ginny talks about her friends all the time. The kids are all in the sitting room, go have fun. Severus, would you like some tea? Molly's in the kitchen."
"That would be fine," Severus said, nodding to Rachel.
Rachel went into the doorway that Mr. Weasley had pointed to and found Ginny and Hermione sitting on one of the couches, and Ron sitting in one of the armchairs.
"Rachel!" Ginny said with a bright smile.
"Hi, happy birthday!" Rachel said as she sat down on the other side of Ginny.
"We were going to have a picnic again, but it's been raining and thundering all day," Ginny said.
"That's alright, a party is still a party," Hermione said.
"How was your trip back?" Rachel asked Hermione.
"Oh, not too bad, the flight was around four hours, and the time zones aren't too far off, but we got in late last night. Athens was beautiful though. I kept thinking that I should have a camera like yours for all the trips we take," Hermione said. "I'm definitely looking forward to the days when I can travel by apparation and portkey though."
"I've never been outside of Britain, but I'd like to one day. I don't even know where I'd go," Rachel said.
"There's lots of places, but France might be a good place to start because it's so close and there's so much to see there," Hermione suggested.
"I'd like to go to France," Ginny said. "I've only been to Egypt and to Romania to see my brothers."
"I didn't even get to go to Romania," Ron said from where he was sitting.
"You were at Hogwarts with everyone else, and Charlie sent you back some stuff," Ginny said.
The flames in the fireplace grew bigger and turned green and a moment later Luna stepped out. "I'm through to the Weasley's, daddy," she said to the flames as she dusted off her skirt.
"Be back sometime after dinner," Mr. Lovegood's voice came from the flames before they returned to normal.
"Hi Luna," Ginny called, scooting closer to Rachel. "Come sit with us."
"I'm glad I got here on time, I was a little worried I had it wrong," Luna said as she sat down between Ginny and Hermione.
"You didn't, we're still waiting on Millie and Neville," Ginny said. "We're going to have cake once everyone's here."
"How do you just step out of the fireplace like that? Every time I go through the floo I fall over," Rachel asked.
Luna tilted her head to the side. "I think it helps to know when you're going to come out the other side, because then you can step forward while you're still moving, because if you stand still while you're still moving you fall over."
"How can you tell when you're about to arrive?" Hermione asked.
"You feel a little bit heavier, like the floo isn't pulling you as much anymore," Luna said.
Rachel thought about the times she had flooed and tried to remember if she'd noticed something like that. It was something to keep in mind and later on see if she could manage to step out of the floo.
The flames of the fireplace turned green again and a moment later Millie stepped out. She fell down onto her knees. "Ugh, I hate flooing."
Rachel got up and gave Millie a hand back to her feet.
"Happy birthday, Ginny," Millie said. "We have a group gift for you, but we should wait until everyone is here. Where's Neville?"
"Thanks. He said he was going to come, but it's still five minutes until it's two o'clock," Ginny said.
The sound of thunder seemed like it shook the room.
"Wow, it's really coming down out there," Millie said, peering out one of the windows.
"When are we having cake?" one of the Weasley twins asked as they stepped into the room. Rachel still couldn't tell them apart.
"When everyone's here," Ginny said.
"I'm going to the kitchen," Ron said as he got up, getting shoved by one of the twins as he ducked by them.
"Brothers," Ginny said. "Be glad you don't have any."
"Hey, I'll trade you my sister for your twins," Millie offered.
"We'll think about it, though I'm not so sure about playing for the Slytherin team," the other twin said.
"We don't look good in green," the first twin said.
"My dad's a Ravenclaw if that makes you feel better," Millie said.
"We can work with that," the second twin said before the pair left.
The flames in the fireplace turned green again and this time Neville fell out.
"Be back right after dinner," Neville's Gran called through the floo.
"Yes, Gran," Neville called back as he got up. "Sorry I'm late. Happy birthday, Ginny."
"Thank you, you're right on time too," Ginny said, standing up. "Let's go to the kitchen before my brothers eat all the cake."
Their group went through the narrow hallway and into the now crowded kitchen. There was a large cake sitting on the table with thirteen unlit candles on it.
"I understand you both achieved an Outstanding on your Potions OWLS," Severus was saying to the twins.
"Yes, sir," one of the twins said, his smile slightly mischievous.
"Then let me tell you now, I do not allow messing around in my NEWT classes. I won't assign detentions, I'll simply have you removed from the class entirely, understood?" Severus asked.
"Yes, sir," the other twin said.
"Do not give Professor Snape any more trouble. Do you have any idea how many owls I've received about you two?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Isn't it nice to get updated with what we're doing at school?" the first twin asked.
Mrs. Weasley put her hands on her hips and glared at both of them.
"Mom, everyone's here now," Ginny said.
"Oh, good," Mrs. Weasley said. "Everyone find a place around the table."
"Can I take a picture of you with the cake, Ginny?" Rachel asked. She'd remembered to bring her camera this time, even though she'd forgotten it when she went to Neville's.
"Sure, I'd like that," Ginny said.
Rachel positioned herself on the other side of the table as everyone got settled and waited until Mrs. Weasley had lit the candles on the cake with a flick of her wand. She took a step back so she could focus on Ginny's face through the viewfinder and took a picture with the candles illuminating her hair and face. She thought it would be a nice picture.
Ginny blew out the candles and everyone clapped and the twins shouted "Happy birthday!" as loud as they could.
Before long everyone had a piece of cake in front of them.
"Ginny, do you want your present from all of us now?" Millie asked.
"Sure," Ginny said.
Millie pulled a pretty coin pouch out of her pocket that had a birthday bow set on it and placed it in front of Ginny.
Ginny opened it and seemed surprised by the small pile of Galleons inside.
"Wow," Ron said, looking a little envious.
"It's for a very specific purpose, we want you to come shopping for a gown with all of us," Hermione said. "Millie asked her mom how much it would cost and that should be more than enough."
"Mom, can I? Please," Ginny asked.
"Well, yes, since it's for your birthday," Mrs. Weasley said.
"Thank you! Thank you all, this is going to be so much fun!" Ginny said, grinning brightly.
"Do you girls have a date in mind?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"My mom has Monday the 22nd off, would that work for you?" Millie asked. That was the date they had settled on in their letters back and forth, since they wanted it to be a surprise for Ginny.
"That should be fine, assuming the World Cup is over by then," Mrs. Weasley said.
"Do games really last that long?" Hermione asked.
"Sometimes, there have been Cup games as long as five days," Mr. Weasley said.
"It won't happen, not with Krum Seeking for Bulgaria," Ron said.
Rachel smiled and took a bite of her cake as talk turned to the Quidditch World Cup and who everyone thought would win.