Hey, thanks to everyone reading this, hope you like the rest.
Wonderful chapter 11
160 Year Old - - Maiden
While the youngest wizard of her family slept, Irmaguard was going to find her niece. She aspirated to the ally near The Serpent's Tongue. The only being around to see the witch appear was one of the river rats that dwelled there. "Disgusting." Old Miss. Prince tiptoed across the cobblestones trying to avoid stepping in any filth that might be in the street. Through the windows of the pub she could see Eileen mixing drinks for the few remaining customers. It was nearly to closing time after all. "That a girl Ele." It wasn't the working the aunt was proud of; it was what she figured out what Ele was doing. "These muggles seem too happy just to be drinking alcohol." Irma thought that happy muggles were muggles that were less likely to be ones that were trying to prove that the wizarding world existed, ones that would leave them alone. Mrs. Snape had to be slipping them little nips of potions with their ale.
Walking into the pub dressed as she was, in fashion circa 1830, Irmaguard was quite a sight for muggles of 1966. The impression she gave was as if she was that of an old matriarch of an Austin or Bronte novel who had just stepped off the pages. Her attitude was anything but matronly. She marched strait up to the bar to confront her niece. "This is what you're doing instead of taking care of your boy?"
"Good to see you as well Auntie," Ele jabbed back. "You need money to take care of a child. Since your brother has cut us off, I'm taking matters into my own hands."
The pub was almost empty so they could talk freely.
"Your dowry was enough for any two people and one child to live in that house for decades, you've managed to fritter it away in a matter of years."
"I had some help."
"Wish you'd listened to me now?"
"No."
"You can honestly tell me, you're happy?"
"I didn't say I was happy, I said I don't wish I'd of listened to you."
Irmaguard's right eyebrow went north in an expression of perplexity.
Ele made herself clear. "If I'd of listened to you - - I wouldn't have Sevvy."
Accepting the fact that she had been trumped, Irma jumped up on one of the stools and slapped a gold coin on the bar. "Butter beer my dear."
"Auntie!" Ele quickly hid the wizard money. "You can't use that here, and we don't serve butter beer." She flipped a pint glass and drew some Guinness. "Try this."
A large gulp later Irma was commenting, "That's got a kick, don't it?" After another long sip she said. "Oh Ele, I'm sorry I scolded you."
"It's all right. I know what a chance you're taking to come here."
"I can do as I like, I'm a hundred and sixty you know." The proud woman sat up strait.
"So my father knows you're here?"
"Noooo, not exactly." Irma took another gulp of stout.
Self-satisfaction was all over Ele's face. "Then why did you take the chance? Wouldn't want you to end up penniless at your age. Might have to come live with us."
A shiver ran throughout Irmaguard's entire body. Her face contorted. "I'd sleep in a gutter on Knockturn Alley before I'd live here."
The pub owner, Ele's new boss, Joe came out of the back room with a box of whiskey to replace what had been served that night. One sight of Irmaguard made him wonder if he hadn't had too many of his own wares that night. He shook his head, but the vision didn't go away. "Oi Mrs. Snape, 'hoes the fairy god mother?"
"This is my Aunt."
"She an actress?"
Not sure what to say, Ele told the truth. "No."
"Come from a fancy dress ball then?"
This time she lied. "Yes, that's it. I haven't seen her in a while, so if I could leave a little early?"
"Sure sure. It's almost done here." Joe handed Ele a wad of cash, her pay and her tips for the night. "See you tomorrow afternoon 'round four?"
"Right."
Ele pulled Irma off the barstool. "Wait," the old lady protested. Ele let go of her aunt's arm. Irma drained the rest of her drink. "Now we can go."
Arm in arm the two witches left the pub. Quietly they walked until they were sure there were no muggles around. Down by the river in a grove of trees, aunt and niece hugged each other warmly. It had been shortly after the wedding when they had seen each other last. Tears were let loose. "I've missed you Auntie."
"I've missed you luv." After a while they broke apart, still sniffling. "You - - you should come back with me. If it's just you and the boy Radu will - - "
"No Auntie. As much as I miss everyone, I won't put my son through that."
"What, growing up somewhere he doesn't have to hide what he is? How dreadful?" Maybe some of Sev's sarcasm was genetic.
"Here or there, there's always going to be some part of himself my son will have to hide. His cousins calling him a mudblood, and letting him know no matter what he does he'll always be inferior in their eyes."
"Should have thought of that before you screwed the muggle."
"Auntie!"
"Sorry."
Ele continued. "I don't want him growing listening to his grandfather yelling at him for being a 'filthy' half-blood a hundred times a day.
"Is that any worse than what his own father calls him? Calling him that disgusting word boys his age don't even understand let alone shouldn't hear. Who knows what the dirt bag would have done to the boy if that protective charm wasn't on him."
"How do you know about that?"
"Well I did pop in at Spinner's End first looking for you, didn't I?"
"And Toby was trying to hurt Sev?" Panic showed on Eileen's face.
"No, by the time I arrived, he was gone."
"Gone - - " Now Ele was infuriated. "He left Sev alone."
"From what I found, the boy was better off. Soul fragmentation is nothing to sneer at."
Ele couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Soul fragmentation? Tell me you are exaggerating."
"I wish I was."
"And you left him there too."
"I took care of the problem. I may be old, but I can handle a simple retrieval of a soul fragment."
"Of course you can. Probably better than anyone else."
"The only thing I can't handle is your father. I'd best be getting back."
"And I've got to get home," Ele added.
Irmaguard was just about to aspirate back to the Prince family home before she remembered why she'd come to the muggle area to begin with. "Wait, I wanted to tell you something. Your father, he's found out that your boy's name is on the list for Hogwarts. He thought maybe it wouldn't be. He wasn't in a rush to find out, but a strange owl came by with a list wanting the head of the family to check and see if all of the children who might be attending the school in the next ten years were still alive, or weren't squibs. You know, after what happened to poor Mesmeric. And there with the others, was your Severus' name."
"Of course it was." Ele spoke proudly. "Sev has more magic in his little toe than any of my have brother and sister's children ever will."
"Poor Mesmeric," Erma muttered again.
"So what does he want?"
"I don't know when you can expect it, but he won't pay for the school unless Severus meets 'his' standards. The old standards."
Her aunt wasn't telling Eileen something that she didn't know she was going to have to face one day. There were a lot of things she could teach her son on her own, but Severus had too much potential not to be given a chance for Hogwarts, or the exposure to other young wizards. That meant money. Thanks to Tobias, that meant getting it from her father. Getting it from her father meant going through an arcane ritual that might end up with her son dead. She also knew the misery that would come if the boy were not trained. An untrained wizard was a miserable creature, an untrained wizard with great potential even more so. She was going to have to make the hardest decision of her life sometime before her son was eleven.
"When the owl comes," Irmaguard reminded. "Act like it's the first time you've heard."
With that the two witches aspirated to their separate destinations.
tbc
