They apparated to Fallow Farm early in the morning on Friday. Severus was carrying both Rachel's trunk and his own trunk, as well as a few boxes of books he'd taken out of storage. All of this was in his robe pockets.
Rachel immediately tipped her face back into the sunlight and Severus decided he had made the right choice to move them out of Spinner's End and out of the dungeons at Hogwarts.
"Come, we have a little time to put things away before Albus and Minerva arrive," Severus said, heading toward the front door.
Rachel followed him inside.
Severus put most of the boxes of books in the sitting room and then levitated the last box into his office. There were some books he didn't want Rachel to read, books that involved dark arts and illegal potions. They had already gone shopping for food and to get things like pots, pans, dishes, and utensils for the kitchen. Their house was fully furnished and they were about ready to move in. The last thing he had to do, other than the wards, was to set up a potions laboratory in the cellar. That was more of a long term affair and he didn't expect to be done this summer.
They went upstairs and Severus unshrank Rachel's trunk and left her to unpack while he brought his own trunk to his room. It was strange to have a large room to himself, with windows that looked out onto grass and trees. He waved his wand and let his trunk unpack itself, his clothes neatly zooming into the wardrobe to be hung up or folded as was necessary.
Back downstairs another quick unpacking spell sent the books onto the bookshelves. A knock at the door caught his attention and he vanished the empty boxes and went to answer it.
"Severus, what a beautiful place. I have to say, I never pictured you on a farm," Albus said, looking jovial as he came inside.
"The bat of the dungeons can't enjoy farm life?" Severus asked, referencing the nickname he'd heard from students more than once.
"I think it's wonderful," Albus said, peering into the kitchen unabashedly. "Are you planning to keep chickens perhaps?"
"No," Severus said shortly. Not only did he not want to keep chickens, who would take care of them during the school year? If he gave them to Hagrid to tend, they'd likely become dinner to some beast.
Rachel came down the stairs, obviously drawn by Albus' voice, but she hung back.
"Ah, Rachel. How are you?" Albus asked.
Rachel nodded, which Severus had learned to interpret as 'good' when she was asked the question of how she was.
"What do you think of your new home?" Albus asked, taking a few steps closer.
Rachel sat down on the bottom of the stairs and wrote a note, which she handed to Albus.
Albus laughed. "Yes, it does look like the backyard will be a nice place to go flying."
Severus restrained himself from rolling his eyes. It was a good thing he was planning to get Rachel a broomstick for her birthday in two weeks.
There was another knock at the door and Severus answered it to find Minerva. She was wearing light blue summer robes and her hair was pulled back instead of wrapped in her usual bun. "Severus," she said.
"Minerva, please come in," Severus said.
"You've found a very nice place, Severus. Out of the way. It would be difficult for anyone to find you here who doesn't already know you're here," Minerva said, looking around. "Hello Rachel."
Rachel smiled and waved.
"Does anyone need something to drink before we get started? I can put the kettle on," Severus offered.
Minerva shook her head. "Let's get started. We can have tea after."
"I'll walk the lines of the property, how far back do you want me to go, Severus?" Albus asked.
"Are you sure, Albus? I can do that," Severus said, both in deference to Albus' age and magical ability.
"I'm not so old that I can't take a walk through a wooded area, Severus," Albus said, giving a broad smile. "It will do me good to be out in the sunshine."
"Let him go," Minerva said. "We'll start the base runes and incantations here."
"Around the retaining wall then," Severus said, nodding to Albus.
"Rachel, why don't you come with me," Albus suggested.
Rachel looked to Severus and Severus nodded. She then followed Albus out the front door.
"Are you sure you want them to go off together?" Minerva asked. "Who knows what ideas he'll put into her head."
"He's been trying to convince me to get her a pet," Severus said. He knew that he would give in when Rachel finally asked him for one, but he would take the time he could get before that happened.
"It wouldn't be bad for her to have an owl," Minerva said neutrally.
"Not you too," Severus said.
"There's a cellar, I presume?" Minerva asked.
"This way," Severus said. He led her through the kitchen and then down into the cellar. The warding worked better when they were rooted close to the earth and in stone. They began to work in silence, each of them concentrating.
Their work was finished within an hour and they went outside to find Rachel and Albus making their way back to them.
"Why don't you and Rachel stand beyond the wards and Severus and I will perform the Fidelius charm," Minerva suggested.
"Of course," Albus said. "Let's go over, just beyond the mailbox."
"Are you sure you want me to be the Secret Keeper?" Minerva asked when Albus and Rachel were out of earshot.
"I'm certain," Severus said, knowing better than to offer the same in return.
Minerva nodded and began the incantation. A glow surrounded herself and Severus and then slowly crept out to surround the house and the property and then melted down into the soil and the house.
Severus knew the house had just disappeared to Albus and Rachel. He and Minerva walked over to join them.
"Severus Snape and Rachel Snow live at Fallow Farm in Hampshire," Minerva said.
Rachel looked surprised as the house must have reappeared to her.
"Are you sure you won't allow Poppy to know as well, in case you or Rachel take ill?" Albus asked.
"If we become ill, we will apparate to Hogwarts," Severus said. He'd already had this discussion with Albus.
"If you become severely ill, Rachel has no way to contact us," Minerva said. "You're not connected to the floo network and she can't apparate. At least borrow one of the school owls while you're here so you can send for help."
Severus felt it was unlikely he was going to become very ill, but he couldn't deny that it was important for Rachel to have a way to request help from Minerva or Albus if she needed to. "Very well. Albus, would you mind if I borrowed a school owl for the duration?"
"Not at all. Now, how about that cup of tea you spoke of," Albus said.
"I'll put on the kettle," Severus said, leading the way back to his house.
Rachel sat on her bed in her new room with her two-way book, her copy of Standard Book of Spells Grade One, and her stuffed bunny on her lap. She'd been working to try to visualize different spells and had been going over all the spells they'd learned last year in Transfiguration and Charms. She'd avoided incendio and diffindo, just in case they actually worked while she was practicing.
She felt like she was close. She'd turned her practice of making the sounds of the alphabet into making the sounds incantations. Now all that was left was to string those sounds together into words. Somehow that was still the hard part.
Closing her eyes, Rachel held her wand out and pictured her bedroom door in her mind, which she had locked for the purposes of practicing. "Ah Lo Ho Mor Ah," she sounded out, her voice coming out in soft breaths. It wasn't put together enough to actually cast the spell, but she could feel the magic waiting in her wand. She held it there for a long moment, willing the magic to go forward and unlock her door, but it remained stuck.
Rachel opened her eyes, sighed, and then rubbed at her neck. Her throat still hurt when she practiced making sounds, even though Torey had said there was nothing wrong with her throat now. Every time she practiced, it felt raw and tight, like she was forcing air through a hole that was gradually growing smaller. She put down her wand and decided she'd try again later, after her throat had stopped hurting again.
She closed the book she'd been studying out of and then leaned over to check her two-way book.
'Rachel, did you receive the letter I sent you? I was hoping that it would have reached you by now,' Hermione had written.
'I haven't received any letters. You sent it by owl post?' Rachel wrote.
'Four days ago, from the Owl Post Office. It was an invitation from my parents for you to come over for dinner one evening,' Hermione wrote back.
'I'll ask Professor Snape if he's seen it. I'll write back as soon as I know,' Rachel wrote back.
She put both books back onto her bookshelf, tucked her stuffed bunny under the blankets so that it was laying on her pillow, unlocked her bedroom door, and went downstairs.
She found Professor Snape sitting in the kitchen, having a cup of tea while he read the Daily Prophet.
'Have you seen a letter from Hermione asking if we could visit her family for dinner?' Rachel sat down across from Professor Snape and wrote out.
Professor Snape put down the newspaper and read her note. "No, I haven't seen any letters from Miss Granger. The only post I've seen has been to me from Albus. Miss Granger wants us to visit for dinner?"
Rachel nodded.
"Would you like to go?" he asked.
Rachel nodded again, a little less certain this time. Hermione generally seemed positive when she spoke about her parents. Visiting them couldn't be too bad, could it?
"Why don't you send Gladys with a letter to Hermione and her parents and ask her what date she would like us to attend, as well as her address so we can apparate there. Ask Gladys to wait for a response," Professor Snape suggested.
Rachel nodded but wrote another note. 'Why do you think her letter didn't show up? Is it because of the wards on the house?'
"No, the wards would still allow owls to deliver mail," he said. He pulled his wand out and twirled it in a circle. "There aren't any spells placed on you that would divert your mail. The next time your friends want to send a letter to you, ask them to send two letters at the same time - one addressed to you, and one addressed to me. If both of them arrive, we'll know it was likely simply a lost owl. If only the letter addressed to me shows up, we'll know something is preventing your mail from arriving."
Rachel nodded. It was an interesting experiment and she thought Hermione would be as interested in the results as well.
"You need a haircut," Professor Snape said.
Rachel hunched her shoulders. Aunt Petunia used to say that right before she cut Rachel's hair up past her chin using the kitchen scissors. 'Does it have to be cut short?' she wrote.
"No, just a trim. The back has grown out uneven with the sides. I think you'll look a little less messy with the ends trimmed as well," he said.
She put her hand up to touch her hair. It was messy, she hadn't showered in a few days, and it hung down past her shoulder blades. She took a piece from the side and a piece from the back and pulled the curls straight, trying to see if the back really was longer. It was, by more than an inch.
"Would you like me to take care of it for you?" he asked.
'You know how to cut hair?' Rachel wrote, a little surprised that he'd offered.
"I know a spell that trims the ends so that they're even. I use it on my own hair," he explained.
Rachel hesitated and then nodded. She had almost six weeks to let it grow back out again if it went wrong.
"Go get your comb, a towel, and a piece of parchment so you can write Miss Granger," Professor Snape instructed.
Rachel went back upstairs and got the things she needed. When she came back downstairs she found Professor Snape standing with a pair of silver scissors. She hesitated again and had to remind herself that it was just hair and it would grow back no matter what was done to it.
"Come sit down, this won't take long," he said. "Put your towel around your shoulders so you don't get hair clippings down your shirt."
Rachel sat in the kitchen chair, towel draped around her shoulders like a very short cloak, and forced herself to hold still.
Professor Snape picked up her comb and then tapped it and the scissors with his wand. "Capillum tonsura," he said.
The comb began making its way through her hair, magically untangling it, and then the scissors trimmed the ends.
"Just hold still while it works," Professor Snape said. "You need some summer clothes too, now that we're not in the dungeons."
Hogwarts had kept fairly cool during the summer and Rachel had continued to wear her trousers and occasionally a jumper. It was warmer here in Hampshire and she only had two t-shirts and one skirt that wasn't part of her Hogwarts uniform. It appeared Professor Snape had noticed that she was wearing the same clothes day after day.
"We'll go clothes shopping tomorrow. I also promised earlier in the year that I'd take you to the bookstore, which I haven't done yet. I apologize. We can go tomorrow so you can pick up a few things to read now that you don't have the Hogwarts library at your disposal," he said.
Rachel tried not squirm with discomfort. Professor Snape had already bought her clothes last year, had just bought her furniture for her bedroom, and now he wanted to take her shopping again. She had way more things than she'd had in her entire life and he wanted to give her more. She didn't know how to deal with that.
"There, all done," he said, collecting the scissors and comb from where they'd been hanging in mid-air. "Go take a look in the mirror and see if it's okay."
Rachel accepted her comb from Professor Snape and went back upstairs. Her hair did look tidier now that it had been magically combed and it only looked maybe two inches shorter. It was hard to tell because her hair curled so much. All in all, it was much better than a haircut from her aunt would have been.
She put the comb away and hung up the towel and went back downstairs. The broom was sweeping the hair clippings into the dustpan and Professor Snape had returned to his tea and newspaper.
"Is it acceptable?" he asked.
Rachel nodded and sat down to write the letter to Hermione, thanking her for the invitation and asking her what date they were planning on. She rolled the letter up, tied it off with a length of string, and brought it over to Gladys.
She offered her hand to Gladys, the school owl they were borrowing, and the owl leaned forward to let Rachel gently scratch along her head.
Professor Snape came over after a few minutes. "Take this letter to Miss Hermione Granger and wait for a reply," he instructed.
Gladys gave a small hoot and let Rachel tie the letter to her leg before taking off out the kitchen window.
Rachel wrote 'Thank you' on a scrap of parchment and offered it to Professor Snape.
He shook his head. "Think nothing of it."
Two days later Rachel sat in her bedroom, stuffed bunny on her lap and books spread out in front of her. She had gone back to practicing lumos, as it was the easiest of the first year spells to string together. It was only two syllables. Her throat was already hurting, and her jaw hurt too from clenching her teeth, but she wanted to keep trying.
"Loo-mos," she sounded out, her fingers wrapped tightly around her wand. She had stopped closing her eyes and was watching the end of her wand intently.
She swallowed and tried again. "Loo-mos," she said, a little bit louder that time.
"Lumos," she said, forcing the sounds together. The end of her wand lit up and she dropped it in surprise.
She had done it. She had cast a spell!
Rachel picked up her wand and tried again. "Lumos." The word was barely more than a whisper, but it was enough to cause the end of her wand to light up brightly.
It felt amazing. She could feel the surge of magic within her and the symbiosis with her wand. She was causing the light. A surge of relief washed over her. Ever since she had read the article in the Daily Prophet saying she was a squib, she had worried a little bit. She knew she shouldn't have been able to make potions or go flying if she wasn't magical, but she had been worried that she'd never cast a spell. But she was magic, this proved it.
"Nox," she whispered and the light went out.
Rachel reached for her two-way book and quickly wrote out 'I cast lumos and nox and they worked!'
She hadn't expected anyone to write back right away, but Theo's handwriting began to appear. 'That's wonderful! Congratulations!'
'I'm excited! What else should I try?' she wrote back.
'Keep practicing lumos and nox for now until you master them. Then try something a little harder, like reparo and diffindo. Hermione and I will come up with a list of the other spells we learned during the school year that weren't in our curriculum,' Theo wrote.
Rachel knew he was probably right. She should keep doing the spells that she could do until she felt like she could do them anywhere, even with people watching. 'Thank you,' she wrote back to Theo
She picked up her wand again. "Lumos." Her wand obediently lit up.
She held the light, noticing how the magic felt different when she first cast the spell to when she was just sustaining the light. "Nox," she whispered, and the light went out.
Rachel rubbed at her throat and swallowed a few times before pointing her wand again. "Lumos."
Severus paused in the upstairs hallway. He'd just left his bedroom and he could see into Rachel's room where her door wasn't quite all the way shut. The light brightened, then dimmed, and after a moment brightened once again.
He crept closer - walking on light feet was a habit ingrained from his childhood - and listened.
Rachel's voice was just barely a whisper as she said "Nox" and the light dimmed again.
"Lumos," she said, and the light brightened once more.
Severus smiled to himself as he stealthily went down the stairs. Torey had told him to give Rachel time alone and suggested that Rachel might be less stressed over the summer holidays. It seemed she was right on both counts.
He sat down in his armchair and breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that Rachel would return to Hogwarts without speaking and without having cast magic. The longer it took, the more catching up she would need to do. But Rachel had done well with her studies and she had the rest of the summer to practice magic - with some work, she would be ready to start her second year at a normal pace.
He decided he would wait until Rachel had either spoken to him or cast a spell in front of him before he told Albus. Albus had been requesting weekly updates on Rachel, which Severus had been writing back indicating that Rachel was fine and all things remained the same. He knew that Albus had a vested interest in Rachel, but Severus also wanted to respect Rachel's privacy as much as possible. As a public figure, she had little enough of that as it was.
After taking Rachel shopping yesterday, Severus had again found Rachel to be uncommonly shy when he was trying to buy things for her. He had finally needed to give her direct orders on how many pieces of clothing to find and how many books she was to buy just to get her to choose something. She was at least obedient, though he knew well enough that she'd likely had that obedience beaten into her.
Severus had lived his own youth in near poverty, and yet he had still possessed more things than Rachel had, and he had been given Christmas and birthday presents. At some point he was going to have another talk with Torey and see if between the two of them they could convince Rachel that it was okay to have things and that he was supposed to provide for her.
At the very least, over the past few months she'd outgrown her shyness about asking him questions. Almost every day at breakfast she would push a scrap of parchment toward him wanting to know something about the wizarding world. Hopefully soon she would start asking him those questions rather than writing them down.
He was willing to wait for that to happen. The last thing Rachel needed in her life was more pressure.
"Are you ready to go?" Professor Snape asked, smoothing his shirt as he stood.
Rachel nodded. She had just showered and plaited her hair so that it wasn't a mess when she met Hermione's parents. Her plait was still a bit messy, she wasn't as good at it as Daphne was, but it was better than leaving her curls all over the place. She had decided to wear a skirt and one of her new t-shirts, and she hoped that she looked acceptable.
Professor Snape was wearing trousers and a button-up shirt and looked both formal and muggle, and he had picked up a bottle of wine to give to the Grangers. "I've never apparated to Hampstead before, it may take a moment longer for us to apparate," he said, offering Rachel his arm.
Rachel nodded and took hold of Professor Snape's arm. At least they were apparating before eating. She closed her eyes and tightened her grip through the squeezing sensation. Before long she felt the ground beneath her feet change from the hardwood of their sitting room to a springy grass.
She opened her eyes and found herself with Professor Snape by a copse of trees that looked out onto a street of houses, with a church at the far intersection.
Professor Snape was looking around. "I believe Miss Granger indicated they lived at 17 Heathgate. If we check the street sign and the house numbers, we should be able to find our way," he said.
Rachel went close enough to the nearest house to see what number it was and found a bronze 7 near the doorframe. She went back to Professor Snape, where he was checking the street signs. She used her quill and managed to write a sloppy number seven on a slip of parchment, and then pointed at the house she'd checked.
"That direction then," he said, nodding in the direction of the church.
They walked down the side of the road and Rachel noticed that Hermione lived in a very posh neighborhood. The gardens were full and the houses were quite big. Nothing like Malfoy Manor, of course, but still very nice. They went up the walk to number 17, a two-story brick home with a neatly cut hedge, and Professor Snape knocked on the door.
A few moments later Hermione opened it and smiled brightly at them. "Professor Snape. Rachel. It's good to see you. Please come in," she said.
"Good to see you as well, Miss Granger," Professor Snape said as they stepped into the main hallway.
"My parents are just through here," Hermione said as she led them down the hallway and into a sitting room. "Mom, dad, this is my Potions teacher, Professor Snape, and this is my friend Rachel Snow. This is my mom and dad, Jean Granger and Robert Granger."
"Pleased to meet you," Professor Snape said, shaking hands with Robert and then handing him the bottle of wine.
"Such a pleasure to meet you as well. We obviously haven't met many of Hermione's school teachers from Hogwarts, so we're very glad you're here. And your daughter as well, of course," Robert said. He looked at the bottle of wine. "Thanks for this, very nice."
"Why don't you have a seat and we can have wine and hors d'oeuvres while dinner finishes, we have a roast in the oven," Jean said. "Rachel, it's so good to see you. I'm so glad that Hermione has made friends at Hogwarts. She speaks of you often."
Rachel blushed and gave a small wave. She was hoping that Hermione had also told her parents that she didn't speak. She was still working on trying to talk to Professor Snape, let alone people she had just met.
"Hermione, why don't you and Rachel go off and play until dinner's ready," Robert said.
"I'll show you my room," Hermione said, leading the way back out of the sitting room.
In the hallway Hermione held up her hand and they both paused. Rachel immediately recognized that they were listening to see if the adults were going to say anything about them.
"Hermione hasn't had many friends before, I can't tell you how pleased I was when she came home this summer and told us she wanted some of her friends to come visit us over the summer," Jean said, presumably to Professor Snape.
Hermione sighed quietly.
"She's a good friend to Rachel. They're in a study group together," Professor Snape said.
"Yes, she told us her entire study group did very well this year," Robert said. "I'll admit, though we're pleased with her grades, we don't really understand the subjects she's taking."
"Yes, it's not quite the same as being told what her grades were in mathematics and sciences, though I did see a history class on her list," Jean said.
"Yes, I understand our classes are quite different from the muggle curriculum," Professor Snape replied.
Hermione tugged on Rachel's sleeve and pointed to the stairs and they quietly made their way upstairs. "My bedroom's this one," she said, opening the first door on the left.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hermione's room had four bookcases, each one packed with books. She had a desk by her window and her bed had a multicolored quilt. There was a well-loved stuffed bear sitting on her pillow.
"Sorry about that, I just wanted to see what they were going to say about us," Hermione said, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "Come sit down, unless you want to look at the books, of course."
Rachel was curious about what books Hermione had, but she came and sat down next to Hermione.
"I'm so glad that you've gotten spells to work. Have you done anything besides lumos and nox?" Hermione asked.
Rachel bit her lower lip and willed herself to speak. All she had to do was open her mouth and say yes. After a few moments she exhaled and tipped her head back.
"It's alright," Hermione said. "You've only just started casting spells, it will probably take more time before you're ready to talk in front of people. I found a book on mutism at the city library and it helped explain some things. I've got paper and a pen over on my desk."
Rachel pulled her strips of parchment from her pocket along with her quill and wrote Hermione a note. 'There are books about people who don't talk?'
"Well, I found one, though I'm sure there are more out there. I wanted to help, if I could. And the best way I know how to help is by researching and finding things out," Hermione explained.
Rachel smiled. 'Thank you. I can do reparo and diffindo now as well. Wingardium leviosa is going to be harder - lots of syllables.'
"You'll get there. You've already done the hardest part by saying the first words. From what I read, it's going to feel difficult in front of people, especially at first, but that the more you do it, the easier it will feel until it becomes your new normal," Hermione said. "And even if you're not ready by September 1st, you can keep working at it while we're at Hogwarts."
'I hope I'm ready by September 1st. Even if it's not in front of everyone yet, I want to do magic, and I want to talk with you and the rest of our friends,' Rachel wrote.
"Well, start small at first. Words like yes and no. Maybe whisper them while you're nodding or shaking your head. Start with Professor Snape because you're around him so much. How is it going, living with Professor Snape? You moved back into his house, right?" Hermione asked.
Rachel nodded. 'It's nice. He bought me bedroom furniture, and just took me shopping for books and clothes. He spends way too much money on me.'
"That's what parents are supposed to do," Hermione said, gesturing to her bookshelves. "When I was little my mom took me to the library three times a week because I'd go through books so quickly. It's a good thing that Professor Snape is taking care of you."
Rachel scribbled a question. 'You don't find it weird when your parents buy you stuff?'
"No, though I try to be moderate and reasonable in what I ask for. I just make sure to say thank you," Hermione said. She looked sad for a moment. "You've never really told us what the family you lived with before was like, or why Professor Snape adopted you, but I think they must not have given you many things."
That was one way of putting it. Rachel looked down at where she was holding her quill while she thought and then she wrote another note. 'Professor Dumbledore said that they were an unsuitable environment for me, that's why Professor Snape adopted me, and that he used to know my mother.'
Hermione looked at Rachel, her brow furrowed. "Is it a good thing that Professor Snape adopted you? It's not like you were in a position to say no. Do you want to go back to your old family?"
Rachel quickly shook her head. 'I'm much better off with Professor Snape. He treats me very kindly. I have my own bedroom and I don't have to cook or do much cleaning. I help wash the dishes, and he says I don't have to.'
"Well, I'm glad that he adopted you then," Hermione said, smiling slightly. "I wish they would give us our book lists for next year already. I want to start preparing."
Rachel smiled and wrote another note. 'We'll have plenty of time to study.'
"I know, but I want to start now!" Hermione said and then laughed.
Rachel grinned and laughed as well, aware of the breathy sounds she made instead of laughter. 'Soon.'