Chapter 19

The Delivery

A persistent dread infected everything that Charity did during her first weeks in London. She was worried about her parents - not because she thought they were in danger; she didn't expect they'd be on Voldemort's radar now that he thought he'd done away with Charity. She was worried because surely they must be concerned for their only daughter's safety after she hadn't returned from that shopping trip. Mr. and Mrs. Burbage had spent the first weeks of summer warning Charity about the danger she was putting herself into, and now their worst fear had come true.

Before she'd taken the Unbreakable Vow, Charity had expressed this concern to Snape. He'd only appeared irritated and seemed to think it was a trifling matter. Couldn't he understand a parent's anguish? Now that Charity thought of it, did Snape even have parents? She couldn't think of a time when he'd mentioned them. So maybe that was it; he actually couldn't understand. Either that or he had so little heart left that he simply didn't care. Regardless, Snape hadn't offered any comfort on the matter, so Charity walked around with the guilt of knowing she was causing her parents so much pain.

Charity was in a particularly melancholy mood when she returned to her tiny flat one day to find two unfamiliar boxes sitting on her bed. She was startled and approached cautiously. Out of habit, she lifted a wooden spoon from the kitchen counter - made easier by the fact that it was but a meter from her front door - and trained the handle end on the larger of the two boxes. Slowly, she approached her bed. Keeping the common, household utensil pointed at the big box, she lifted a flap on the smaller one with her free hand, shrieked out of pure nerves, and jumped back.

Not daring to step closer, she stretched on her tip-toes and craned to get a peek inside the box. Nothing popped out at her or exploded; that was good. She just now noticed a distinct odor coming from one of the boxes. It was horrid, yet pleasantly familiar. Odd. Still, what was in the open box? She dared a step closer and then noticed movement inside. With a snap of her wrist, the spoon handle switched to the smaller box. As Charity was about to yell, 'Mortis Locomotor!' she remembered the vow and then realized that the utensil in her hand wasn't going to do anything but give the intruder a good stirring.

"Oh, hang it," she muttered and stepped over to the box and pulled it all the way open. She looked down and found herself staring into her parents' faces! Her dad was smiling away while her mother had her hands held up to her face with a worried expression as she watched waves lapping on the shore towards little Charity - it was the photo from their family vacation to Majorca that Charity had kept in her room at Hogwarts.

The photo was accompanied by a few books and knick-knacks from Charity's Hogwarts office. She smiled happily at her belongings and immediately started setting them around her room. She realized she'd have to hide most of these items if ever she invited any Muggles over, but it was so good to have a taste of her old life, her real life. She set the books on a shelf next to the Bobbie bunny figurine that reminded her of … that smell! She ran to the big box and flung it open – there, lying fast asleep, was Bnickel.

"Oh, beautiful Bnickel!" she said as she lifted him out of the box and opened his cage. By now he had woken up and squirmed a bit. He settled down as soon as she was holding him snugly against her chest. Here was something warm and soft and alive that could give her love. Even more importantly, something she could give love to. As she felt his little heart beat against hers, she knew that this little bunny had just saved her life. With him to pop up every time she walked through the door, standing on his two feet, stretching his little nose up to greet her at the top of his hutch, she was going to make it through this.

Settled in with her things, Charity finally began to wonder how it all got there. Snape was the only one who knew where she was. It was unthinkable that a man as cold as him could make such a kind gesture. And how could he have shown his face back at Hogwarts to collect her things? Still, what were the alternatives? Snape could not have dared tell anyone else that she was alive without risking a torturous death for himself. It had to have been him. Charity smiled at this thought as she rubbed noses with her bunny.

What was it he had said to her - "It is for my benefit at least as much as yours that the Dark Lord does not find out that you are still alive."

"That's it," she told Bnickel with a sinking feeling of disappointment. Snape needed her to stay hidden; therefore, he needed her to stay semi-sane and that was the only reason he went through the trouble of sending her things.

It was nearly a full week before Charity noticed the note that was jammed in the corner of Bnickel's cage. The rabbit had already chewed a hole clean through, and when she opened the letter, there was a large, ragged chunk missing. The letter was from her mum and dad! She could hardly calm herself enough to focus on the words, but she eventually forced herself to do so.

Dearest Charity,.

Well, it appears your rabbit does have magical powers after all. Or has at least been

taking lessons from Frederic. You cannot imagine our relief when we read your letter.

I regret to tell you that I was unable to save even a scrap of it when it burst into flames

and disintegrated just as I was reading your lovely signature. Gave me quite a start.

Your father wants me to tell you that it was a very clever trick. Of course, HE'S not

the one who nearly had his eyebrows singed.

We are greatly relieved to learn that you have taken our advice and gone off to some

far continent. I don't see why you couldn't have given a proper good-bye, but I suppose

you have your reasons. Nevertheless, you should know that our grief was great when

we feared that the worst had happened. Mysterious disap......rances have become quite

commonplace these days and I'm afraid to say not all ................ have had the same

happy results as yours. Our friends and neighbors ........................ tremely gracious and

understanding in our anxious state. Why, some .............................. to magic us dinner

every night since you first disappeared. Come to ............................... has meals

scheduled every other night throughout the ......................................... did say you

wished to keep your current circumstances as ................................ gh desiring to

let the neighbors think that you are dead seems ...................... pect your wishes

and continue accepting these meals. Yes, your fath ............... ep up this semi-

mourning charade until you are out of danger.

Your father wants me to tell you not return the bunny to us. We don't want you to

compromise your safety, dear. Also, you should probably change its bedding straight

away.

Sincerely,

Mum & Dad

Snape must have attached a note from Charity to her parents on the bunny cage. He knew that Charity was worried about her parents' reaction to her disappearance; he was probably concerned that Charity might reveal herself to them and potentially others in the process. Snape was just covering his own rear again.

All the same, wasn't he taking a huge risk by letting even her parents know that Charity was still alive? After all, her mother was the emotional type and it wasn't in her nature to keep a secret. Then again, her parents still didn't have any idea where Charity was, and the letter she had supposedly sent them had been destroyed, so there was no hard evidence, just her parents' word - her parents' grieving, emotionally-strained word. If they did slip (which was really very unlikely the more Charity thought about it, since they believed their daughter's very life depended on their discretion,) chances were that nobody would believe them; it would simply be written off as some sort of post-traumatic stress. Despite herself, Charity was impressed by Snape's cleverness.

*****

With her mind at ease about her parents, Charity tried to make the best of her secluded Muggle life. Over the summer Charity had become quite fond of the paunchy museum security guard, Bernie, and his tall, skinny girlfriend Marta, who worked at the museum's information desk. Bernie and Marta were both just a few years older than Charity and had been dating for some time. Bernie was a jolly fellow with a very dry, sarcastic sense of humor. Marta was mostly just dry, but she came with the Bernie package, so Charity thought it worthwhile to look past her stony veneer.

One September day, when Charity was at Marta's information booth dropping off some new flyers about an upcoming exhibit on Vatican artifacts, a large tour group entered through the front doors of the museum. They looked to be an elderly American group with several walkers and hearing aids among them. The group was led by a stressed looking, middle-aged woman holding a fistful of museum tickets.

"Ah yes," said Bernie to the woman, "I see our live exhibit of the original British Colonists has arrived. Straight through the court then and to your right."

The harried woman clutched her tickets, nodded confusedly at Bernie, and headed off through the court and out of their sight.

"That was so funny," Marta said in her monotone voice, although no actual laugh was forthcoming. Charity laughed but debated internally whether or not to catch up with the woman and set her straight.

Bernie interrupted her thoughts when he said, "Oi, there Candy (her Muggle name) a group of us are takin' a trip to the zoo this Saturday. Care to join us?" Charity was thrilled at the invitation and accepted at once. She'd never been to a real zoo before.

The 'group' turned out to be Charity, Bernie, Marta, and Marta's twelve year old niece, Leanne. Sitting in the backseat of Bernie's little car next to Leanne, Charity felt rather like a twelve-year-old niece herself with her Uncle Bernie and Aunt Marta. Charity liked to think of them as family when in reality she was so completely on her own.

The day was crisp and cool, and Charity wore a long knit poncho. She smiled at the feel of the open poncho floating along as she walked past giraffes and okapi, because it reminded her of her witch robes. After viewing many of the outdoor exhibits, the four of them ducked into the reptile house. Charity wandered toward a very large snake and noticed a warning sign next to his encasement:

Brazilian Boa

Interesting fact: Six years ago

this very snake attempted to

escape and made it as far as

the bear grotto. While zoo

authorities have no idea how

he managed it, we assure you

it won't happen again.

Charity stood transfixed by the snake for a long while and thought she read something sad in its crimson eyes. When its smooth face and the black slits of its pupils began to look too familiar, she shuddered and backed away. She rejoined the others and they headed out of the building.

As they made their way across the zoo, they strolled past the cage of a large Golden Eagle. Charity admired the striking figure it made with its hooked beak and piercing black eyes.

"Why, it looks just like Severus, doesn't it?" she found herself murmuring out loud.

"Pardon?" asked Bernie, "What's 'Severus'"

"Oh, someone I knew at University."

"Rather an odd name, isn't it?"

"Not nearly as odd as the wizard himself," Charity replied under her breath.

As they continued on, the group decided to pair off when Bernie became intensely interested in primates and dragged Marta off in that direction. Meanwhile, Charity and Leanne were drawn to the smaller, furrier creatures. The two girls delighted in the spunky meerkats and slippery otters while Charity told Leanne all about Bnickel. Leanne was an enthusiastic listener with a healthy curiosity, so Charity went on to tell her about small furry magical creatures like Jarveys, Nifflers and Kneazles.

Of course, Leanne thought it was all just made up, but Charity sensed the girl's excitement at the possibility that just maybe these creatures could exist…somewhere. That's when Charity first realized that Muggle children were the key to gaining general Muggle acceptance of the magical world. Until now Charity's efforts had been focused on wizards' acceptance of Muggles, but wasn't the reverse equally important? In both cases, the rich imaginations and unprejudiced minds of children were the ticket to unity. Charity wanted to give Leanne's imagination a chance to really run wild, so she let slip mention of Nargles, fictional creatures frequently mentioned in one of the far-fetched wizard rags that her father so despised.

"What's a Nargle?" Leanne asked.

"Well, no one really knows, do they? After all, very few people will admit to even believing they exist." Leanne's shoulders slumped, and Charity added, "All I know is that they are very mischievous and like to hide in small shrubs." With a sideways glance at Leanne, Charity asked, "What do you know about them?" Lean responded with a spirited description of tiny creatures with bubble-shaped bodies that changed colors at will.

As Leanne finished her verbal portrait, Bernie rejoined them with Marta perched on his back. The first thing Charity noticed was a beaming smile on Marta's face, which added a wonderful new dimension to her boney features. The next thing Charity noticed was a shiny diamond on Marta's left hand. Charity threw her hands up to her face and gasped. Marta's smile grew wider and she buried her head into Bernie's back. Bernie's round face danced – from sparkling eyes to wide toothy grin as he shouted, "She said yes!"

Leanne looked confused, so Charity explained, "They're engaged!" Leanne screamed and rushed to hug her uncle-to-be, nearly knocking both he and Marta over.

"Congratulations!" beamed Charity. She couldn't stop herself from asking, "But, why'd you do it at the zoo?"

"Ah, yes, an excellent question," replied Bernie. "You see, I've been carrying this thing around with me for weeks," he explained, gesturing towards the ring. "Waiting for just the right moment. Then today, as we was standing there watching the Chimps eating bugs off each other and playing with their own poo, I thought 'Bernie, this is the best you're ever going to look, relatively speaking' and I knew this was the moment I'd been waiting for."

Marta had unburied her head by then and let loose a machine gun of a laugh. Charity and Leanne laughed with her, and they all celebrated with fizzy drinks and sausages from a nearby vending cart. As the happy group circled back by the eagles after their meal, Charity hung back to study the majestic creature. She couldn't let go of a thought that had taken hold of her ever since first spying the bird - Snape seemed to be able to do everything else, why couldn't he be an animagus?

When the others had walked ahead, she whispered, "Severus? Severus, is it you?"

The eagle only looked down and began pecking at a scrap of rat left over from lunch. Charity shook her head at her own silliness and walked away, but she turned to cast a final suspicious glance at the regal animal. Even though she knew the eagle was nothing more than just that - an eagle - and even though she didn't exactly trust Snape at the moment, Charity had gained some sort of comfort to think that maybe someone from the magical world was looking out for her.

The trip to the zoo came to an abrupt end as dark clouds came rolling in, seemingly from nowhere. Winds picked up and small pellets of hail rained down on Charity, Bernie, Marta and Leanne just as they jumped into Bernie's little car. Sudden storms like this were becoming the norm. The Muggles attributed it to changes in the earth's atmosphere as the result of ongoing pollution and something called El Nino, but Charity knew better - Voldemort was gaining power and the tentacles of his domain were gripping the Muggle world.

Violent storms weren't the only odd happenings recently. Toward the end of summer, a restaurant on Tottenham Court road had been blown to bits from the inside, yet no one who was there seemed to have any clear memory of exactly what had happened. A few weeks ago there had been reports of a scuffle and strange disappearances in a public restroom not too far from Charity's apartment. Other stories abounded and Charity longed to know exactly what all of this meant.

She couldn't help but feel guilty for hiding away in the safety of her anonymity while the magical world was so obviously in peril. In her deeper meditations, Charity considered that she did hold the power to take down one of Voldemort's top servants; if she revealed that Snape had saved her, surely Voldemort would retaliate on him. But that wasn't something Charity could bring herself to do. Besides wanting to spare herself from Voldemort's wrath, she felt a sort of loyalty toward Snape for saving her life. Also, although Charity would never admit it, there was just a speck of hope deep within her that maybe, somehow, Snape was not the monster that the wizarding world believed him to be.