As July came to an end Rachel continued to practice magic, and speaking, in private. She'd managed to do almost all of the Charms they'd been taught during the first year, with the exception of wingardium leviosa, which she invariably stumbled over as she strung the syllables together. She'd also picked up a few that weren't on the syllabus that their study group had researched, such as the warming charm and the drying charm.
She'd begun to work on Transfiguration as well. She could turn her socks into small songbirds and back again using the Avifors spells, she could turn a needle into a match, and she could turn small rocks into matchboxes. She'd written down a note for Professor Snape, asking about mice and turtles to practice some of the other Transfigurations they'd learned that year, and he said he would request Professor McGonagall to send along ones she could practice on from her teaching supplies.
It was a Wednesday, and after practicing her magic for the day, Rachel was sitting on her bed with her two-way book open in case anyone wrote something down. She was reading the third Horath Bogtrotter book. Millie had recommended the series to her and Rachel had bought them when Severus had taken her shopping. The books were fun, though they were quite silly. They followed the adventures of Horath Bogtrotter, a young auror who hunted dark wizards. In the third book, Horath had just learned that his uncle was the dark wizard in the mask he'd been searching for in the second book.
Rachel thought dark wizards probably weren't quite as dramatic as the Horath Bogtrotter books made out. Also, the dark wizards never really did anything that dark in the books. They killed people, but it was all mentioned as backstory. She thought that was probably okay - given that this was a children's book series - but when compared to the reality of the Death Eaters, they didn't seem that scary.
Rachel glanced at the two-way book as she finished reading a chapter - Horath had just entered his uncle's manor - and found a message waiting for her.
'Rachel, did Professor Snape get a letter from me today?' Theo had written.
Hermione and Millie had both contributed to the mail experiment by sending a letter to Rachel and a letter to Professor Snape. Both of Professor Snape's letters had arrived, and both of Rachel's hadn't. Professor Snape didn't know what was causing her mail to be redirected, but for the meantime, Rachel had told her friends that any letters they sent should be addressed to Professor Snape.
'I haven't seen the mail today, but I can check,' Rachel wrote back.
'Before you check, I need to tell you what it is. It's an invitation for you and Professor Snape to visit me and my father. I need you to tell Professor Snape to write back and come up with an excuse why you can't come,' Theo wrote.
Rachel frowned in confusion. 'Your father made you write the invitation?'
'Yes,' Theo wrote. There was a long pause before he kept writing. 'I'm not entirely sure why, he just said he wanted to see you in person.'
That sounded foreboding. 'I'll tell Professor Snape that we should say no and your father was the one behind the invitation. Are you okay?' Rachel wrote, biting down on her lip as she worried.
'I'm fine. I'm just looking forward to going back to Hogwarts. Just over a month left,' Theo wrote. 'I've got to put in an appearance at lunch. I'll write to you again later.'
Rachel pre-wrote two notes for Professor Snape and then went downstairs. She found him in his armchair, a quill in hand as he marked up a potions magazine.
He paused his work and read her note. "Yes, there's a letter from Theodore, it's on the counter. I left it for you as I figured you were the intended recipient."
Rachel went and got the letter from the counter. She opened it and found an invitation to dinner in Theo's handwriting. She went back into the sitting room and handed Professor Snape both the letter and her second note.
Professor Snape's forehead creased as he read the letter. "I presume this is the work of Ignatius Nott. Did Theodore mention anything to you about what prompted the invitation?"
Rachel sat down on the floor and used the coffee table to write another note. 'Theo just said that his father said he wanted to see me in person.'
His frown deepened. "I will write back to Ignatius and indicate that while I would be glad to meet him for dinner, you will not be able to attend because Albus has limited your contact with other people out of concern for your wellbeing," he explained, setting aside the letter.
'Did he really say that?' Rachel wrote.
"No, but I will write Albus and let him know that I have indicated that he said that. That way if someone asks him, he knows what to answer," Professor Snape said. "Speaking of dinner invitations. I received one from Neville's grandmother. She's asking us to attend dinner at the Longbottom Manor on the Saturday following your and Neville's birthdays. Would you like to go?"
Rachel nodded and then paused and very quietly said "yes".
Professor Snape paused for a moment and then nodded. "I will write to Augusta and let her know we'll be attending. I trust you can pick out a birthday gift for Neville?"
"Yes," Rachel whispered again, swallowing afterward and refusing the temptation to rub at her throat.
"Good," he said, with just a hint of a smile. "I'll let you take care of that part then."
Rachel got to her feet and went back upstairs to her bedroom. She sat down on her bed and exhaled. She had talked to Professor Snape, on purpose, and her heart now felt like it was stuck in her throat. She picked up her bunny and held it as she worked on calming her breathing. Her throat was still burning, but the pain gradually grew less. She could do it. She could talk.
Rachel woke up late on her twelfth birthday. She'd carried on her usual tradition of staying up until midnight to say happy birthday to herself and when she woke she found that it was past nine. She'd known about magic for an entire year now and she thought it was amazing how much her life had changed. She had friends, she lived with Professor Snape, she could cast spells, and she was working on talking to people. It had definitely been the best year of her life.
She got dressed and went downstairs. She was surprised to find Professor Snape in his armchair instead of having breakfast in the kitchen.
"Happy Birthday," he said, standing up. "Would you like eggs and bacon for breakfast?"
"Yes, please," Rachel said. Her voice was still quiet, hardly more than a whisper, but it was there.
"Come into the kitchen, it won't take long," he said.
Rachel sat down at the kitchen table and watched while Professor Snape cooked. He was right that it didn't take long. While he put the eggs and the bacon into a frying pan, he didn't turn on the stove. Instead he used his wand, which he held over the frying pan and made a stirring motion. The bacon sizzled and popped and the eggs began to cook. Rachel thought that cooking with magic was a lot easier than cooking without.
Professor Snape placed food on two plates and brought them over to the table. "There's a cake, for later. I understand it's traditional to have it with a party, however, I'm afraid that wasn't practical under the circumstances."
Rachel pulled out her quill and parchment. 'It's okay. We're seeing Neville tomorrow. Thank you for the cake.'
"You're quite welcome. Would you like to open your gifts after breakfast?" he asked.
Rachel nearly choked on her scrambled eggs. She had more gifts? After everything Professor Snape had given her already? Maybe he meant her friends had sent her something?
Once she managed to swallow her eggs, she nodded. Then she forced herself to say "yes". She was trying to make herself talk whenever it was a very short answer.
They finished their breakfast and Rachel brought a bit of bacon that she'd saved for Gladys over to her and gently scratched her head. Gladys seemed to like both the bacon and the attention.
"Why don't you wash your hands and come into the sitting room. I'll bring your gifts down," Professor Snape said, in that way he had of disguising a directive as a question.
Rachel did as instructed and found herself sitting nervously on the couch as Professor Snape came downstairs with a box. He placed the box on the coffee table and sat down in his armchair. "Your friends sent you a number of things, though there is a gift from me as well."
She leaned forward and reached into the box and realized that the box was much larger on the inside than on the outside. The first thing she found was solid and tube like and she had to stand up in order to pull it entirely from the box. She gaped at the brown paper wrapping, able to tell by the shape what it was. She sat back down and carefully undid the strings tying the paper closed. Finally the paper came off and revealed a Nimbus 2001. It was supposed to be one of the best broomsticks on the market.
"Thank you," she whispered, cradling the broomstick in awe.
"There are rules. You have to stay beneath the treeline and within the boundaries of the wards. And no dangerous stunts either. Understood?" he said, his voice not as harsh as his words.
Rachel nodded. "Thank you," she said again.
"You're welcome. I believe you still have a few more gifts to open," he said.
Rachel gently set aside her broom - her very own broom! - and reached back into the box. She pulled out another unlabeled package, a medium sized cube, and took off the wrapping paper. It was a Quaffle. She smiled and said "thank you" once more.
The next gift was thick and somewhat heavy and Rachel could guess what was inside when she saw Hermione's name on the wrapping paper. There were two books enclosed. A copy of Little Women, by Louise May Alcott, and a copy of Practical Spells for the Practical Witch by Bethany Lambert. Rachel smiled and set them both aside after showing them to Professor Snape.
There was another box shaped gift, this one marked as being from Millie and Theo, in Millie's handwriting, and Rachel opened it to find a box of chocolate frogs and an album to place the chocolate frog cards in. This was an excellent gift because Rachel was out of candy from what she'd received at Christmas.
The next gift was a small unlabeled box. Rachel unwrapped it and found a practice Snitch. The label on the box said that it would stay within a warded area and would come back when summoned by a wand. "From you?" Rachel asked.
Professor Snape nodded once. "I know you're looking forward to trying out for the House team in the fall, I thought these might help."
"They will. Thank you," Rachel said, setting the Snitch with the Quaffle.
There was one last present in the box and it also felt like a book. It was wrapped in brown paper and had Hagrid's name written on it. She opened the paper and found a photo album inside. She opened the cover and on the first page there was a photo of a couple holding a baby. The woman with red hair looked out of the photo and waved.
"What is it?" Professor Snape asked.
Rachel got up and walked over to the armchair to show Professor Snape.
He pressed his lips together before speaking. "That is Lily and James, holding you when you were a baby."
Rachel took another look at the photograph. It was hard to see the details of their faces in the photo, but Rachel thought she recognized herself in the shape of her mother's face. She went back to the couch and sat down and put the photo album on her lap. She was going to have to do something very special to thank Hagrid.
Severus got to his feet. He had known that Rachel would want to know more about her parents eventually, he just hadn't been prepared for it today.
"Would you like me to help identify people in the photos?" he asked, watching as Rachel stared down at the photo of herself with Lily and James.
Rachel nodded and then quietly said "yes".
Severus nodded his approval. Rachel had been working hard this week to remember to speak to him. He sat down next to her on the couch and Rachel turned the page to reveal another photo.
"You and James, of course. You're probably about a year old there," Severus said. The photo was of Rachel astride a toy broomstick while James helped hold her steady.
'My father was a Quidditch player too, right? A Chaser?' Rachel wrote on one of her scraps of parchment.
"Yes, he played for the Gryffindor House team. If it weren't for the war, he probably could have been a professional player," Severus explained.
'What did he do? And my mother? What were their jobs?' Rachel wrote.
"They worked for Albus, trying to stop the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters. James received a large inheritance from his parents, so they didn't need to work traditional jobs. They started fighting in the war as soon as they'd graduated from Hogwarts," Severus said. He had done the same, though on the other side of the war, and had been working on achieving his Potions Mastery at the same time.
Rachel seemed to consider this while she stared at the photo. She finally turned the page to reveal another photo of Lily and James dancing together, both in their school uniforms.
Severus braced himself. That photo looked like it was taken maybe the year after Lily had stopped speaking to him. They had reconciled before her death after Severus defected from the Death Eaters, thank Merlin, but their friendship had never been the same. "Lily and James were Head Girl and Boy in their seventh year," he said, making his voice carefully neutral so that Rachel wouldn't hear any of his residual bitterness.
Rachel nodded as she touched the edge of the photo. She turned the page again.
"This is shortly after you were born. That is Lily and James with Alice and Frank Longbottom, Neville's parents," Severus explained. Both Lily and Alice were smiling proudly as they held their babies. He realized Rachel needed to be prepared, so she wouldn't ask Neville about his parents tomorrow. "Alice and Frank…"
"I know," Rachel whispered.
"Neville told you what happened to his parents?" Severus asked, a little surprised. In his class, Neville was very shy, and clumsy, and Minerva had expressed the same frustration.
Rachel nodded, her expression solemn. She turned the page again.
Severus gritted his teeth. "That's your father and some of his Gryffindor friends," he said, not bothering with names as he restrained himself from glaring at the photo.
She watched them for a moment before turning the page.
"The Order of the Phoenix," Severus said softly.
Rachel looked up at Severus, her expression curious.
"That is the name of Albus' group that fought the Dark Lord. There's Alice and Frank again. That is Albus' brother, Alberforth. And there's Lily and James," Severus said, skipping over the majority of the people in the photo. Many of them were dead and Rachel hardly needed to know how they died.
'You're not in the photo?' Rachel wrote.
"No. I didn't socialize with the Order much, so that I had plausible deniability for not knowing things. I explained to the Dark Lord that most of them didn't trust me and that I was only allowed there at Albus' command, which was true at first," Severus explained. The more he thought about it, the more glad he was that his days as a spy were behind him.
Rachel nodded and turned the page.
It was a photograph of Lily at Hogwarts. She had a pile of books with her and was smiling brightly at the camera.
"I wish I had something of my mom's," Rachel said very quietly. "But now I have pictures."
Severus blinked in surprise. It was the first full sentence he'd ever heard Rachel say. It obviously meant a lot to her, as it would to any orphan he was sure. He wondered if he could get past the wards on the Snow's house in Godric's Hollow. "I can't make any promises, because I don't know for certain if I'll be able to find something that belonged to Lily, but I will try," he settled for saying.
Rachel looked up at him again and gave him a small smile. "Thank you."
Severus nodded. "Why don't you put your things away and then try out your broom," he suggested. He'd had about as much of looking at photos as he could handle for the moment.
Rachel's smile was full this time as she hurried to stand up. She gathered the books and candy she'd been given and Severus used a charm to clean up the wrapping paper.
"Remember, stay inside the wards and below the tree line," he said.
"I will," Rachel said as she went up the stairs with her arms full. Her voice was nearly at a normal speaking volume that time.
Severus went back to his armchair and settled in. He wanted to finish his rather critical review of The Practical Potioneer - if he saw one more article on modifying healing potions for a slight increase in effectiveness, he was going to write the editor - and continue his designs for the potions laboratory that he planned to build in the cellar. Plenty to keep him occupied while Rachel flew around the property.
Rachel's new broom was faster than the broom she'd flown at Hogwarts, it took turns more smoothly, and she felt pretty sure she could do a vertical loop with it if she dared. She was saving that maneuver for when she was back at Hogwarts and had immediate access to the hospital wing if something went wrong.
She'd spent yesterday afternoon flying, writing thank you letters and organizing her chocolate frog cards in the album she'd been given in the evening, and then practicing magic before going to bed. Today she'd spent the morning catching the practice Snitch while flying around and had immediately come back out to fly again after lunch.
She still couldn't believe that Professor Snape had given her a Nimbus 2001. She tried to tell herself it was because he wanted to have a good House team, and she needed a good broom if she was going to be on the team, but she knew that he didn't have to give her a broom at all. It had become more important than ever to earn a spot on the House team to prove he hadn't been wrong to give her the broom.
"Rachel," Professor Snape called, standing at the back door. "It's time to get ready to go to the Longbottom's."
Rachel looped around and quickly flew back to the house, landing a meter away from Professor Snape.
"I suggest wearing your school robes along with a skirt. Augusta is rather old-fashioned," he said. "And maybe comb your hair."
"Okay," she said, her voice still quiet, and she followed him inside. She knew her hair was a mess, it always was after she'd been flying.
She went upstairs, changed into the best clothes she owned and put her Hogwarts robes on over the top, and used a comb on her hair. The comb didn't help all that much while her curls were frizzy, so she put her hair in a plait. She grabbed Neville's gift, which she'd ordered a few days ago and had it delivered using Professor Snape's name.
Back downstairs, she found that Professor Snape was now also wearing robes. He offered her his arm. Rachel held on and braced herself for being apparated. A moment later they appeared on a brick pathway in front of a large house.
The Longbottom Manor was not quite as impressive as the Malfoy Manor, but it was still large. The gardens looked well cared for and the house had a front porch with an intricately carved front.
"Be on your best behavior," Professor Snape said as they approached the front door.
"Okay," Rachel whispered.
Professor Snape knocked on the front door and a moment later the door opened and they were greeted by a House Elf.
"Yous are expected Professor Snape, sir, and Miss Snow. Please come to the sitting room," the House Elf said as it bowed to them.
The inside of the Longbottom Manor was heavily decorated. The hallway had floral wallpaper and many moving portraits that observed them as they walked through. The sitting room was opulent, with stiff looking chairs and couches and polished wood cabinets.
"Professor Snape, Miss Snow, please come in," an older woman in deep blue robes said. "Neville, introductions if you would."
Neville rose from where he'd been sitting. He was wearing formal robes as well. "Professor Snape, Rachel Snow, this is my Gran, Augusta Longbottom. Gran, this is Professor Snape, who teaches Potions, and my friend Rachel Snow."
"Wonderful to see you again, Augusta," Professor Snape said, bowing his head.
"And you, Severus. Come have a seat and I'll have the House Elves bring us tea," Augusta said. "Miss Snow. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"You too," Rachel said, so quietly she wasn't sure if Neville's Gran could hear her.
"Children, why don't you go entertain yourselves until dinner is ready," Augusta directed.
Rachel looked to Professor Snape, who nodded, and then she followed Neville out of the room.
"Sorry about that," Neville said when they were a further down the hallway. "Gran is kind of formal."
"It's okay," Rachel said.
Neville smiled. "That's good. I have to show you something. Come to my room for a minute?"
Rachel nodded and then followed him up a staircase and down another decorated hallway. They went into a room a few doors down. Neville's bedroom was tidy and had groups of plants on each of the windowsills. "For you," she said, holding out her gift.
It was a wicker carrier for Neville's toad. She hadn't been able to wrap it so she'd tied a ribbon to the handle.
"For Trevor," Neville said, smiling. "Thank you. This will help me keep track of him coming back and forth from Hogwarts. This is for you, happy birthday."
Rachel unwrapped her present from Neville. It was a book titled A Visual Guide to Magical Creatures.
"I know you like animals and this one has a lot of good pictures," Neville explained.
"Thank you," Rachel said. She was looking forward to reading it.
"And my Gran got me this for my birthday because she was so pleased with my grades," Neville said, holding out a wand. "Unicorn hair and Cherry."
Rachel grinned. "That's great," she said, unable to stop herself from rubbing at her throat.
"Does it hurt to talk?" Neville asked, looking worried.
Rachel pulled out her quill and a piece of parchment. 'A little. It's supposed to get better with time and practice.'
Neville nodded. "I hope it gets better soon. Do you want to see the section of the greenhouse that Gran's been letting me tend?"
"Yes," Rachel whispered. She watched as Neville carefully tucked away his new wand and then they went back downstairs and out into the gardens.
Severus accepted the cup of tea and took a biscuit from the tray that the House Elf had offered.
"I must say, I was surprised when I received Neville's grades," Augusta said after taking a sip of her own tea. "Pleasantly surprised. Frank did well at Hogwarts, but after raising Neville, well, I must admit my expectations were not high."
"As I'm not Neville's Head of House, I'm afraid the only grade of his I'm familiar with is his Potions grade. He struggled, toward the beginning of the year, but I have seen improvements in his work. No doubt due to the extra effort he's put in with his study group," Severus said, keeping his tone neutral. While Neville's efforts at Potions were barely passable, he didn't want to give Augusta another reason to criticize the boy.
"Yes, Frank was good at Potions. I hope that Neville continues to improve his work there. This study group, I'm told Rachel is in it as well," Augusta said, not quite making it a question.
"Yes, Rachel is part of the study group, along with a muggleborn in Gryffindor, and two more of my Slytherin students," Severus said. "I believe everyone in the study group was ranked in the top ten of their year."
"Good. That will be a good influence on Neville. I'm glad he's not wasting his time at Hogwarts. It's good that Neville and Rachel are friends. I think their parents would have wanted that," Augusta said with a firm nod.
If Lily and James had lived, and if Alice and Frank had not been left senseless in Saint Mungo's, Severus had no doubt that Neville and Rachel would have grown up seeing each other quite often.
"One thing. I've heard some things about Rachel. Her adoption, for one," Augusta said.
Severus took a sip at his tea to give him time to formulate a response. "What do you mean?"
"Albus Dumbledore assured me he had placed Rachel with her muggle relatives and that she was safe there, and has given no satisfactory explanation why he removed her from their care and placed her with you, upon her arrival at Hogwarts," Augusta said, her left eyebrow raised.
"I am Rachel's Head of House and have the ability to protect her. We felt that with Rachel joining the magical world, she needed more able supervision," Severus lied. He had no intention of revealing the real reason Rachel had been removed from her relatives, especially not when it would make its way through the pure-blood gossip networks.
"Well, if anyone could protect the girl from Death Eaters, it would be you, Severus," Augusta said, though the appraising look she gave him clearly meant that she wasn't buying his story.
"Pomona Sprout says that Neville shows a real aptitude for Herbology," Severus said, being unsubtle about the subject change.
"She wrote to me saying the same. I'm letting him work in part of the greenhouse this summer," Augusta said. "Hopefully his skill with Herbology will help him in Potions."
"He still has plenty of time to improve his work in Potions," he said. Severus untensed his shoulder muscles slightly as Augusta accepted the change in subject. The last thing he needed was to have to go to Albus and explain why he'd found it necessary to obliviate Augusta Longbottom at a birthday dinner.
"How was your week?" Torey asked as she sat down across from Rachel.
"Good," Rachel said, careful to make her voice as loud as she could. It still didn't sound like much more than a whisper, but she was working on it. She passed Torey a note.
"You want to practice your magic in front of me to prepare to do it in front of your teachers for your make-up exam?" Torey asked, reading Rachel's note and setting it aside.
"Yes," Rachel said, nodding out of habit.
"I think that's a good idea. Do you want me to pretend to be one of your teachers?" Torey asked.
Rachel thought it would be very difficult for Torey to pretend to be Professor Flitwick or Professor McGonagall. They were nothing alike. "Okay," she said anyway. She passed Torey the list of spells she'd been practicing.
Torey looked over the list and sat up straighter. "Very well, Miss Snow. We're here today for you to take your practical Charms and Transfiguration exams," she said in a voice that was much sterner and higher pitched than her voice usually was.
Rachel silently laughed. The only sound that came out when she laughed was a sort of quiet wheezing sound. She hadn't figured out how to articulate laughter yet.
"Let's start with the Wand Lighting charm," Torey said, breaking character to wink at Rachel.
Rachel was glad that she had picked something easy to start with. "Lumos," she said, holding out her wand and watching the tip light up.
"Very good, and the Extinguishing charm," Torey prompted.
"Nox," Rachel said, and the light went out.
"Full marks," Torey said, still in her fake-stern voice.
They went through the rest of the charms on the list, not including incendio because there wasn't a fireplace in Torey's office, and the only one Rachel stumbled over was wingardium leviosa.
Rachel leaned against the back of the couch, feeling her face and her throat burn. Once she messed up it was hard to keep going.
"You did very well," Torey said, now using her regular voice. "Have you done the Levitation charm on your own?"
Rachel nodded.
"That's good. Keep practicing that one on your own until it feels more natural. You did the rest of them without any problem. I'm guessing you practiced them a lot," Torey said.
Rachel nodded again and rubbed at her throat.
"Your throat hurts?" Torey asked. At Rachel's nod she pulled out her wand. "Is it okay if I cast a diagnostic charm?"
Rachel nodded and then held still while Torey waved her wand.
"I'm not seeing any signs of irritation or inflammation," Torey said as she put her wand away.
Rachel bit her lower lip and wrote Torey a note. 'The pain isn't real, but I still feel it burning.'
"I'm not trying to say that the pain isn't real or that you're not feeling it. I have no doubt that you are feeling pain right now, because I believe what you tell me. We're still learning how the brain processes pain and feeling pain after an injury has healed, especially after a traumatic injury," Torey explained. "Have you noticed any differences in the pain as you've practiced speaking? Does it always happen right away? Does it always last the same amount of time?"
'It changes. It takes longer for it to start hurting a lot now. It hurts more when I'm speaking to people,' Rachel wrote.
"Both of those make sense. Do you remember how we talked about how feeling anxious can make it harder to talk?" Torey asked.
Rachel nodded. Was what she was feeling anxiety? She wasn't sure.
"For many people, anxiety manifests in the chest and in the throat. Many people with an anxiety disorder report feeling tightness in their chest and their throat at the start of an anxiety attack. It makes sense that you'd be feeling more anxious, both as you talked for a longer period of time and in front of people," Torey said.
'It's not tightness, it's burning,' Rachel wrote, touching her throat as she passed the note to Torey.
Torey read the note and then looked at Rachel. "When your throat was first hurt, was it a burning sensation?"
Rachel nodded and looked away. She didn't like to think about that.
"Then it's not surprising that your mind interprets other sensations there as burning, especially sensations that are painful," Torey said softly. "Were you talking, right before your throat was hurt?"
Rachel pressed her fingernails into the skin of her thumb and nodded again. She had been apologizing to Aunt Petunia, after she'd made a mess while cleaning the bathroom. She really did not want to be thinking about this.
"I think it's likely your mind associates talking with that pain, and you're experiencing that pain now as your brain is warning you that talking might bring that pain again," Torey said. "It makes sense that your brain has made that connection, because your brain is set up to protect you and warn you. What you now get to teach your brain is that talking isn't a threat to you. No one is going to hurt you because you're talking. And you teach your brain that by practicing talking and having nothing bad happen. Over time, your brain will learn that it's not a threat and it will stop telling you that your throat is burning."
Rachel thought her brain was pretty stupid. She knew Torey and Professor Snape weren't going to get upset with her for talking. Both of them had said they wanted her to talk. It was just hard.
"Do you want to tell me how your birthday went?" Torey asked.
Rachel nodded and started writing about the cake that Professor Snape had baked for her. This was a much better topic to discuss.