Olivia's POV
The rest of July passed uneventfully. I spent every moment with Mouse, who followed me everywhere and even slept in my bed. I had her litter box trained within a week of bringing her home. I was most grateful that I could use magic to clean it out once a week.
Towards the beginning of August, my friend Mari Pirelli sent me an owl with a letter. When I first heard the owl I was on the floor under the kitchen table with Mouse, feeding her bacon and encouraging her to play with Snape's shoelaces. Snape was eating breakfast, reading the newspaper, and tolerated us with an eye-rolling attitude.
"There's an owl at the window," Snape said absently, still reading the paper.
"I'm not your slave," I said, then grinned mischievously, "..Although I could be, if you wanted."
Snape made a scoffing noise and turned the page of the newspaper. I sighed and got out from under the table. I wiped my hands off and opened the window. The owl hopped inside and I removed the letter, which I found was addressed to me. Curious, I leaned against the counter to read.
Livvy,
Guess what- my sister got tickets to the Quidditch World Cup! I'm sure you've heard about it- It's Ireland versus Bulgaria. We have an extra ticket. If Snape let's go, we could meet you in Diagon Alley on Friday. The match is on Monday night. My sister says we can stay with her until then. Write me back and let me know what Snape says.
Marì
"Hey Snape," I said, folding the letter and tucking it in my pocket, "Can I meet Mari in Diagon Alley tomorrow? She got tickets to the Quidditch World Cup and wants me to go."
"No," he said without looking at me.
"No? What do you mean no? I'm sixteen years old! Besides, you always say you don't care about me."
"I don't mean no you can't go to the stupid match," he said coolly, "I mean you can't go Friday."
"Oh. Well why not?"
"Because it's been arranged for you to meet with the Head of the Department of Magical Creatures that day so you can become a registered Animagus."
"Oh. You never told me that."
He shrugged.
"Well what time is the meeting?" I asked.
"1 p.m."
"Well I can meet Mari after that. It can't possibly take all day."
"Whatever. Do what you want, girl."
"You're so mean. Why can't you be nice?"
"I have my moments," he said lightly, "After all, I'm going along with you. I could make you do it yourself."
Snape left for Hogwarts shortly after breakfast. I headed upstairs to my room and wrote a reply to Mari, telling her I'd meet her in front of Gringotts at 3:00. I had just sent the letter of when Mouse jumped onto my desk and batted my quill onto the floor.
"Hey…I don't think I can take you with me," I said, picking her up. She meowed inquisitively.
"I suppose Snape might take care of you for a few days. …He's gonna act like a pain in the butt about it though."
I spent the day preparing to leave. I packed some clothes, cleaned my room, cleaned out Mouse's litter box, and filled her food and water dishes. Then I cleaned the house for the hell of it. After that it was only 3 p.m. so I walked into town to the store, with Mouse following close behind me.
Two hours later, when Snape came home from Hogwarts, I had a full meal on the table- ham, macaroni and cheese casserole, mashed potatoes, and I'd even bought a blueberry pie for dessert. When Snape Apparated into the living room- scaring the hell out of me I might add- he inhaled deeply.
"You cooked," he said, sounding surprised.
"I did."
"You haven't done that in ages."
I shrugged indifferently and went into the kitchen to set the table. Snape followed me and as I began to set out the plates, he took the dishes from me. He nudged me to the side and began to set the table wordlessly. While he did that, I got out spoons to dole out the macaroni and potatoes.
"Could you get the ham out of the over for me?" I asked when he had set the table, "It's rather heavy."
He nodded and opened the over door. The mouth-watering smell of ham billowed forth into the kitchen. He grabbed the pot holders and carefully removed the ham from the oven. I grabbed a knife but he took that from me as well.
"You know how to slice a ham?" I inquired somewhat doubtfully.
"Yes. Now sit," he said, pointing to a chair. I sat and watched, somewhat fascinated, as Snape sliced the ham and proceeded to serve us both. Mouse, who had been sitting faithfully by my feet, got up and began to wind herself around his ankles. Snape glanced down at her, then fixed a third plate, with smaller portions, and set it on the floor for Mouse. I smiled fondly as he sat down.
"What?" he said sullenly.
"Nothing," I replied, "Nothing at all."
After we finished eating, I cleared away the dishes and with a wave of my wand, started them to washing themselves. Snape was still sitting at the kitchen table, reading the Evening Prophet.
"So I've hit a little snag in my plan," I said, sitting back down.
"Oh?" he said, looking at me over the paper.
"A little furry snag named Mouse," I said, picking her up off the floor and setting her on my lap, "I cant' take her with me."
He frowned and set the paper aside.
"Is this why you cooked dinner?" he inquired.
"Well it may be a contributing factor," I said, smiling slightly.
"Hm," he said with a faint smile, "…Okay, I'll do it."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Wow. I thought I'd have to get down on my knees and beg or something," I said then, realizing what I might have unintentionally implied, laughed. Snape just rolled his eyes and resumed reading the paper.
The next morning I awoke at almost 10:00 to the smell of bacon frying downstairs. Mouse was sitting at the bedroom door, waiting to be let out, her little pink nose twitching.
"Is that Snape cooking?" I said, getting up. Mouse meowed.
Of course it was Snape cooking. Who else would it be? I hurried downstairs wearing my short black shorts and the red tank top I had slept in. Mouse raced down the stairs ahead of me.
When we reached the kitchen, I found Snape standing at the stove, making eggs. There was bacon already cooked to the side.
"Well there's something you don't see everyday," I commented.
"Oh shut up," he said shortly. I sat down at the table, smiling. Mouse began to rub against his leg. He glanced down, then swiftly dropped a piece of bacon on the floor, probably hoping I wouldn't notice.
"You're nothing but a big softie, Severus Snape," I said as he brought me a plate of food.
"If you say things like that I'm going to stop being nice to you," he retorted, "…I'm making an effort here."
"Okay, okay. Sorry," I said, still smiling.
Snape's POV
I wasn't entirely sure why I had cooked breakfast for Olivia. She called me soft and even though I had snapped at her, she smiled at me throughout breakfast. It felt weird…but it was kind of nice.
We Flood's to the Ministry at 12:30 so Olivia could meet the head of the Department of Magical Creatures and be registered as an Animagus. We had our wands checked by an elderly man working at a desk up front, who also directed us to the floor where Olivia's meeting would take place.
"The man you are meeting is named Chester Meyon. He's the head of his department. I expect you to be respectful and-"
"I can be respectful," she snorted indignantly, "You've seen me around Dumbledore, haven't you?"
We found the office with Chester Meyon's name on it and knocked. We were told to enter. I opened the door and allowed Olivia to walk through. The man sitting at the desk had light brown skin, a goatee, and was bald. He wore robes of dark green.
"You must be Miss Cain," he said, standing to shake hands with her, then with me, "Her guardian, I presume?"
"Professor Severus Snape," I said, shaking his hand.
"Very good, very good. Have a seat, both of you. Now, I just have a few questions for Miss Cain…"
An hour later, the meeting was over. Olivia had spent most of the time in her wolf form, nodding or shaking her head in response to Meyon's questions. I'd spent most of the time pretending I wasn't there. When we went downstairs to the main floor of the Ministry building, we used the fireplaces to Floo to Diagon Alley.
"We still have an hour before I have to meet Mari in front of Gringott's," Olivia said when we stepped out of the fireplace into the Leaky Cauldron.
"Well," I said slowly, "I suppose we could have lunch."
"Sure…but not here, kay?" she added in a whisper.
I nodded my head in agreement- the Leaky Cauldron wasn't the best place in the world to eat.
Olivia followed me into the back and through the hidden passage into Diagon Alley. We walked along the street, heading for a little diner called Sam's where I had eaten a few times before. Olivia paused suddenly and I found that we were outside of Ellen's bookstore. The windows were boarded up and the sign that had once hung over the door was gone. Olivia sighed quietly and looked down at the ground. I cursed myself inwardly for not remembering that the bookstore was on the way to the diner. I put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. She leaned into me a moment, then pulled away and continued walking.
When we reached the diner, Olivia and I went to the booth in the back and sat down. A waitress came and took our order.
"Are you excited about going to the World Cup?" I asked Olivia after the waitress had left, just to make conversation.
"Yeah. Ireland is my favorite Quidditch team. Mari likes Bulgaria better though."
We talked about Quidditch until the waitress returned with our food. We ate in silence for the most part, then I paid the bill and we left. We started towards Gringott's and Olivia spotted her friend waiting for her.
"Well I guess this is goodbye," she said to me.
"I suppose so. How long will you be gone?"
"Until Wednesday, at the least. You'll take good care of Mouse, won't you?"
"Of course. …Goodbye Olivia."
"Bye."
She hugged me quickly, then hurried off before I could reprimand her.
I watched from a distance as Olivia ran up to her friend. They hugged and Mari introduced her to the girl standing beside her, who I recognized as her older sister, Connie Pirelli. She had been at Hogwarts some years ago and the only reason I really remembered her was because she transferred from Hogwarts to Beauxbatons in her fifth year to study abroad. I watched the three girls walk away into the crowd of people.
I walked around Diagon Alley alone for a while, not sure what I wanted to do. I stopped in the Apothecary and bought some Potion ingredients. After that I decided I may as well go home and Disapparated with a pop, right in the middle of the street.
When I appeared in my sitting room, I sat down on the couch, somewhat overwhelmed by the absence and the silence. She'd only lived with me a few months and already it felt strange not having her around. Mouse appeared out of nowhere and leapt into my lap.
"Well at least you are still here," I said with a sigh.
The cat let out a sad meow and lay down in my lap, her whiskers drooping slightly.
"You miss her, too, huh?" I murmured, then shook my head, "I didn't say that. I don't miss her. In fact, I'm glad she's gone."
The cat looked up at me and blinked. Even she knew I was lying to myself.
Olivia's POV
Mari's sister Connie was a few years older than us- she was 24 to be exact- and she spoke English with bits of French thrown in. I didn't understand everything she said, but it sounded cool.
"so where do you live, Connie?" I asked curiously as we headed to the Leaky Cauldron to Floo to her house.
"Mari did not tell you? I live in Paris," she replied, pronouncing it the French way.
"No way! The Paris?"
"The one and only," she replied, smiling.
"That's why I came to get you a few days before the match- so we can go shopping!" Mari said excitedly, "And you can do your back-to-school shopping in France."
"Excellent! I definitely need new clothes as well. Not to mention we have dress-robes on our list this year."
"Dress robes?" Mari said, frowning slightly, "We never needed dress robes."
"Ah, it is all part of the surprise that's going to take place at Hogwarts this year," Connie said, smiling mysteriously.
"What surprise? What is it?" Mari asked eagerly.
"I cannot tell you. Or at least, I cannot tell Olivia. She has not graduated yet. But it will be something most spectacular."
"Man! I wish I hadn't graduated!" Mari said glumly.
The house Connie lived in eastern Paris and had two halves to it. Connie owned one half and she told us the other half was owned by an old rich couple who came over from America in the springtime. Mari had a room upstairs which was done up in Slytherin colors. She led me up to it and let me dump my suitcase in her room. I flopped on her soft, comfy bed.
"I love France," I said with a pleased sigh.
After two days of straight shopping, I was more than ready for the World Cup. Mari and I were both so psyched we could hardly sleep on Sunday night. We lay awake in bed, giggling and talking. I told her about Snape and about the farm.
"So he actually rode a horse?" she asked, amused.
"Yeah. And I think he lied about having ridden one before, just to appease me."
"So he likes you?"
"I think so. But he doesn't want to do anything about it. He think's it is bad. I've been trying to flirt, but he is resistant."
"Nonsense," she snorted, "every man has a breaking point. You need to catch him when he is weak."
"That doesn't sound nice."
"Oh it would be nice. What you need to do is take that sexy black lingerie you bought today- you know, the dress thing- and sneak into his room while he is asleep and-"
"Okay Mari," I said, turning over so that my back was to her, "I'm going to sleep now."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. We have to get up before 7 a.m. so we can catch the Portkey."
"I've never traveled by Portkey before."
"It's not too bad but I prefer Apparation. It's quicker and I wouldn't have to get up as early."
"So why don't you just Apparate?"
"Well it's not like I can leave you to travel by Portkey alone," she replied, sounding amused. I kicked her half-heartedly and settled myself in for a few hours of sleep.
Early the next morning Connie came in carrying a candle.
"Rise and shine, girls," she said brightly, "Come downstairs and have breakfast."
"I don't wanna," Mari whined, then rolled over and knocked me- unintentionally, I'm sure- out of bed.
"Ow!" I exclaimed, now fully awake, "Son of a bitch, Mari."
"What?" she muttered sleepily, dragging herself into a sitting position, "What're you doing on the floor, Liv?"
"You knocked me onto the floor," I said, getting up and stretching.
"Really?"
"Yes really!"
"Oh. Sorry."
We trudged downstairs to the kitchen where Connie had a breakfast of pancakes and breakfast waiting for us. The pancakes were amazing and absolutely perfect. Connie offered to show me how to cook them sometime.
Even after downing several cups of coffee, Mari and I were still yawning as we followed Connie towards the outskirts of town. The sun was just starting to come up. Behind us, the city of Paris was beginning to stir. Muggle Frenchmen were off to work. Tourists were stirring in their hotel rooms.
The sun was high in the sky and we had been walking along the countryside for hours.
"Are you sure we're going the right way, sis?" Mari asked, panting slightly. We were both sweating in the hot morning sun. We were both carrying backpacks on our backs, but Connie carried the largest one and she was hardly sweating at all.
"Of course. We're almost there. Look- see those trees over there-" she pointed to some trees ahead that appeared to be the beginnings of a forest, "-that's where we're heading. There's a clearing where we're meeting the Wizarding families that live around here."
"Are there a lot of them?" I asked curiously, "I've never come across French kids at Hogwarts."
"They go to a different school- Beauxbatons," Connie said, checking her watch, "Let's pick up the pace, kids. We're a little late."
"Connie transferred to Beauxbatons her fifth year at Hogwarts," Mari told me as we walked, "She graduated from there."
When we reached the clearing, there were several people already there, crowded around an old football. There was an elderly couple in their sixties who stood together. There was a young child about six years old, running around the clearing. Her parents stood near the football. A teenage girl with short blonde hair, blue eyes, and freckles sat on the ground near the football. As we approached, the little girl ran over to the teen and grabbed her arm. The little girl whispered something in French. The teen laughed and made a reply. Then she looked up at us and smiled.
"Bonjour," she said, standing to greet us, "Parlez vous Francais?"
Mari and I both shook our heads.
"I thought not," the girl said in heavily accented English, "I have not seen you around school before. You go to Hogwarts?"
"Yes," Mari replied, "Actually, I just graduated. My name is Mari Pirelli. This is my sister Connie. She went to Beauxbatons a few years."
"Bonjour," Connie said, smiling at her.
"My name is Olivia," I said, not wanting to be left out.
"My name is Brandi and this is ma mére, Robin, mon pére, Pierre, et ma petite soeur, Angel. They speak only French."
The little girl, Angel, waved at me, her blue eyes wide and round. I smiled kindly, thinking to myself that she was a cute kid. She had a mess of blonde curls. She smiled back at me with a smile that could melt your heart. I wondered to myself if her smile could melt Snape's heart.
"What's that?" Mari asked curiously, pointing to a wire that went from Brandi's pocket to one of her ears. Brandi pulled out a small black square device that had several buttons. I recognized it to be an mp3 player. I had had limited exposure to them in the Muggle stores I browsed.
"This is an mp3 player. It plays music. I love Muggle music," Brandi said. She pulled the bud out of her ear and turned the volume up so we could somewhat hear the music that was playing.
"I like Muggle music, too. I have a stereo and a few CDs I got for Christmas last year," I said to her.
"Have you ever heard of the band She Wants Revenge?"
"I don't think so, no."
"They're awesome," she said, beginning to rummage through her pack, "I have a CD somewhere you could borrow."
"30 seconds," Connie said suddenly, her eyes on her watch, "Everyone grab the football. A finger will do."
We crowded around the football. Mari on one side of me and Brandi on the other. Angel was holding her Mother's hand, looking curiously at the bottle. All of a sudden, I was jerked forward into a swirling tunnel of light. My finger felt like it was super-glued to the football. I couldn't have pulled away if I had wanted.
Then suddenly my feet hit the ground. Mari stumbled into me, knocking both me and Brandi to the ground. Everyone else was still standing, even Angel, though she clung desperately to her mother's leg and looked somewhat pale.
"11:00 from Canterbury Forest," said a man who wore a tweed suit with thigh-length galoshes. His companion wore a kilt and poncho and had a list in his hand.
"Your Portkey, please," said the man in the kilt. Connie handed him the football and he tossed it into a box.
"Names, please," he said looking at his list.
"McAdams," said the old man who hadn't spoken until now. After being told which way to go- Connie translates, as it appeared the elderly couple only spoke French- the man and his wife walked off. Brandi gave her family's name- Butler- and was told where to go.
"I hope I see you again," she called back to us, waving over her shoulder.
The man in the kilt told us where to go and Mari and I followed Connie away, up a hill, towards the edge of the forest. As we got over the top of the hill we saw what appeared to be hundreds of tents pitched in the meadow. Some looked as if they could belong to Muggles, which is what we were supposed to do…others were somewhat outrages, sporting doors, windows, and the odd chimney.
"They don't know much about Muggles, do they?" I said to Mari.
Eventually we came to a spot where a post with the name Pirelli was stuck in the ground. There were tents on either side of us, but no one was out and about. Connie tossed her pack on the ground and began to rummage through it.
"Want us to help you set up the tent?" Mari asked, sounding as if she really didn't want to.
"I can handle it," Connie assured us, "You girls can go walk around if you like, but remember- no magic."
"Okay. Come on, Olivia," Mari said, grabbing my arm and dragging me away.
There had to have been thousands of witches and wizards coming to the World Cup and the sea of tents seemed endless. We'd been talking about an hour when we spotted Brandi and her family sitting outside of a tent that looked perfectly normal. She waved us over.
"Your tent certainly looks like a Muggle tent," I commented as we approached.
"Of course. We live in a Muggle village- we even have a television. We've got one inside the tent, too," she said brightly, "What are you two doing?"
"Walking around," Mari said with a shrug, "Care to join us?"
"Sure."
Brandi said something in rapid French to her parents, then followed us away.
The three of us walked through the sea of tents. We waved at people from school and laughed at how preposterous some of the tents looked. There was one large tent in particular that looked like a palace, which had several live peacocks tethered in front of it.
"Poor things," I said sympathetically and headed off in the direction of the palace tent.
"Uh, Olivia? What are you doing?" Mari asked as she and Brandi hurried to catch up with me.
"Rescuing the peacocks, of course!" I declared.
"Why does that not sound like a good idea?"
"No one's asking you to follow me," I retorted passionately.
"Of course I'm going to follow you," she said, rolling her eyes and grinning.
As we got closer to the tent, the door opened and two people walked out. One was Draco Malfoy, a fourth-year boy Snape was fond of, but who I disliked. The other was Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father and Snape's friend. I had met him before when he had visited Snape at Hogwarts. He was one of the governors of the school or something like that. Lucius saw me and walked towards us, Draco strutting along behind him.
"Cain, isn't it?" Lucius said to me.
"Yes sir," I said, forcing politeness. I didn't like Draco or his father. Draco was mostly just an idiot and Lucius…I didn't like the way his cold grey eyes moved over my body. It made me wish I'd worn more clothes.
"You live with Severus now, don't you?" he asked.
"Yes sir. He's my cousin."
I saw surprise register on Draco's face, but he said nothing.
"Is Severus here?" Lucius asked.
"No. I'm with friends."
"Ah," he said, his eyes flicking from Brandi to Mari, then back to me, "Too bad. We could use him."
The Lucius continued past me without another word, Draco following, his nose in the air.
"What does that mean he could 'use him'?" I snorted once the Malfoys were out of earshot.
"Who cares?" Mari said, her eyes on Lucius retreating figure, "That man is sexy!"
"I wouldn't mind spending some time with his son," Brandi remarked, staring after Draco.
"Draco is an idiot and Lucius…ugh," I said with a shudder.
"I would've thought you would like Lucius," Mari said to me, "He reminds me of Snape."
"Are you kidding? That creeper is nothing like Snape. …His eyes have no soul. They're cruel and full of hate. …Snape has kind eyes. Sometimes. He acts tough, but he has a soft side. I've seen it. I doubt anything about Malfoy is soft."
"Well I wouldn't want him to be soft," Mari said with a naughty grin.
"Who is Snape?" Brandi asked curiously.
"My guardian. He's sort of my cousin. His cousin adopted me when I was a baby. She died last year and Snape took me in," I explained, "He's also Potions Master at Hogwarts and I'm his apprentice."
"And you like him?" she inquired.
"…Yes."
"At Beauxbatons, all our teachers are female. Our headmistress Madam Maxime, does not trust us. …It's a drag, not having any boys."
"You should transfer to Hogwarts," Mari said jokingly, "Only don't steal Snape."
"No one can steal Snape. I can't even get him," I said with a sigh.
"You can," Mari insisted, "You just have to try harder. Like I said, every man has a breaking point."
"She's right, you know?" Brandi added. I rolled my eyes and continued to the peacocks.
There were seven magnificent peacocks tethered at the entrance of the tent. They were walking around rather depressedly, their heads down. Some were molting. I cursed Malfoy's cruelty to animals and discreetly slipped out my wand.
"Diffindo," I said quietly, pointing at the nearest rope.
"Livvy! Connie said no magic," Mari hissed.
The peacock noticed the rope being cut and as soon as he was free he took off into the woods. I quickly began to free the rest of them. Mari and Brandi helped and once allt he birds were free, we took off.
Apparently not all the birds headed for the forest. As the three of us slipped away from the scene, we heard people screaming behind us.
"Just keep walking, "Mari said to me, "It's not like they're going to kill them."
"Are you sure?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder.
"Yes," she said firmly.
"Fine," I said sullenly.
We continued walking. About ten minutes later, we spotted Lucius Malfoy talking with a man with a moustache who wore a suit. We got closer to listen.
"-know you are a private guest of the Minister, but you really cannot have peacocks here, Lucius. They are drawing far too much attention and it seems you can't control them," the man said to me.
"That's Bartemius Crouch," Mari whispered, nudging me, "The Head of International Magical Cooperation. He helped Connie get transferred to Beauxbatons."
"I don't know what happened, Crouch. One minute they were secure, the next they were running amok. I suspect it was teenagers, pulling a prank," Lucius said.
"Either way, we have far too much going on to be chasing down your birds."
"I'll take care of it, Mr. Crouch. In the meantime, I'll make a generous donation to St. Mungo's," Lucius said, pulling out a small pouch filled with Galleons.
"Right, well…" Crouch said, and he accepted the gold, "As long as you take responsibility for them."
I scoffed and continued walking. Mari glanced longingly over her shoulder at Lucius, but she and Brandi followed.
"Of course Malfoy can buy his way out of trouble," I said scathingly.
"I love a man with money," Mari gushed, "He could buy his way into trouble with me."
"Mari," I said, half-exasperated, half-amused, "Sometimes I wonder about you."
By the late afternoon, the Ministry seemed to have given up trying to suppress the obvious displays of magic. Salesman were now Apparating every few feet with a variety of magical merchandise. I bought a green shamrock that repeated the names of the Irish players. Mari bought a red and black Bulgarian scarf with a lion sewn on it. Brandi purchased a miniature lion that raced along the palm of her hand and roared impressively.
"C'est magnifique," she exclaimed.
As it grew dark, a gong rang out somewhere and lights appeared in the trees, lighting the path to the stadium.
'We've got to find Connie," Mari said anxiously, "She has our tickets."
"And I must find ma famille. Au revoir," she said to us.
"Bye," we replied in unison.
We hurried through the crowd of people and eventually found Connie standing outside what appeared to be a plain Muggle tent.
"Ready?" she asked us.
"Yeah!" Mari exclaimed.
"Then let's go!"
Snape's POV
I had been feeling antsy all day and I couldn't explain it. It wasn't the World Cup- or at least, I didn't think it was. It was just a feeling…like something was going to happen. In addition, the Dark Mark that had been burned into my forearm long ago seemed to be tingling. The Mark had faded after the Dark Lord was vanquished and it was still faded, so I assumed the tingle was a product of my imagination.
I summoned dinner from Hogwarts and allowed Mouse to sit on the table to eat with me. I gave her a plate of chicken and a goblet filled with milk.
"You can't tell Olivia I let you sit on the table, ok?" I said o the cat as we ate. She looked at me and meowed.
I must be going nutty, I thought to myself, Talking to a cat. Hmph.
That night when I went to bed, Mouse was curled up at the foot of my bed. I had been letting her sleep in my room. The first night Olivia had been away, I had awoken to find Mouse yowling pathetically outside of her bedroom door.
My unease kept me awake for a long time. I tossed and turned and when I finally went to sleep it was to find wretched dreams waiting for me. Muggles were screaming- there were flames everywhere. People were running, panic-stricken…people were being trampled.
I awoke in a cold sweat and immediately scrambled out of bed. I just knew Olivia was in danger- I felt it. Mouse was no longer asleep, but was pacing the floor, tail twitching, meowing as I scrambled to get dressed. Finally I just grabbed my wand and magicked my clothes on. I looked down at the frantic cat.
"I'll bring her back," I promised.
Then I Disapparated with a pop.
The field I appeared in was an exact replica of my dream, so much that I couldn't help but wonder if maybe I hadn't woken up at all. Thousands of people were running around in fear while a select few in masks laughed cruelly and shot off spells.
"Death Eaters. Fuck," I said to myself, "Olivia! Olivia!"
I waded through the terrorized crowd, calling her name, fighting to remain calm.
Be reasonable, I thought to myself, Olivia is a brilliant girl. …She'd head for the safety of the trees.
I took off towards the nearest patch of forest.
I was about to head into the dark of the forest when I heard her scream. I whipped around to see Olivia being held by one of the Death Eaters. I recognized the mask and shoes as belonging to Lucius Malfoy. Olivia was struggling against him wildly.
"You pig!" she screamed as he nuzzled her neck and whispered something in her ear, "Let me go!"
She morphed suddenly into her wolf form, slipping out of his grasp. Instead of running, she turned back to him and with a snarl she lunged at him, jaws snapping. Lucius let out a cruel, mirthless laugh, and waved his wand. Olivia flew backwards with a yelp. She landed on the ground and became human again, but she did not move.
"I'll teach you to respect your elders," Lucius said coldly, grabbing her by her arm.
"No!" I shouted and blasted him off his feet without consciously firing a spell. I fell to my knees beside Olivia. A faint trickle of blood came from her mouth and she had a nasty cut on the back of her head, but she was still alive.
"Good of you to join us, Severus," Lucius said as he got to his feet, disheveled. My blood was still boiling. I leapt to my feet and held my wand to his throat.
"What are you playing at, Lucius? What were you going to do…rape her?" I demanded, hardly able to make myself say the words.
"Now Severus," he said, hands raised, "She's fair game."
"No she is bloody well not fair game!" I growled, sparks shooting out of the end of my wand, causing Lucius to step backwards, "She is mine! I claim her."
"Okay, okay. No need to get angry, Severus. You can have her. There are plenty more."
Lucius took off through the crowd. I carefully lifted Olivia up and carried her towards the forest. Her friend Mari appeared beside me suddenly.
"What happened?" she asked, eyes wide with fright.
I intended not to answer her at first- after all, I had trusted her with my girl and where was she when Olivia had been struggling with Lucius?
Then I heard more screams, this time coming from the forest. I looked up to see the Dark Mark shining in the sky above the forest. The identical Mark on my arm seemed to twinge again. I pulled Olivia closer to me and looked down at her friend, who was staring at the Mark in the sky with a somewhat vacant expression.
"Can you Apparate?" I asked her.
"Wha- yes, but-"
"Grab hold of Olivia and follow me."
Mari grabbed her arm and I Disapparated, taking the girls with me.
We appeared in the living room of my house. I lay Olivia gently on the couch and knelt beside her. Using my wand, I examined her, trying to figure out what Lucius had done. I performed a few healing spells, but still she didn't stir.
"Is she going to be okay?" Mari asked anxiously. I glanced at her- I had almost forgotten she was there.
"Go to the kitchen- there is a door there that leads to a Potions room. Get me some Dittany."
She disappeared and reappeared a few moments later with a clump of Fluxweed.
"Idiot girl!" I barked, "You've brought the wrong thing! One would think you hadn't learned anything at Hogwarts!"
She gave a frightened start and hurried back into the kitchen. This time she brought me Dittany.
I sent Mari back and forth to retrieve different herbs for me. A few times she brought me the wrong thing and I had to send her back. Her ignorance frustrated me. At long last, Olivia's eyelids fluttered open.
"You're alive!" Mari exclaimed. Olivia turned her head to look at her friend.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"Snape's house, I think," the girl replied.
"Awesome," Olivia groaned and closed her eyes.
"She's okay now, right?" Mari asked me.
"Yes. She needs rest."
I started to clear away the leftover ingredients and things, leaving Olivia sleeping on the couch. Mari followed me into the kitchen.
"What was that skull-thing in the sky?" she asked me.
I ignored her, but threw away the useless ingredients and returned the usable ones to the potions room. Then I returned to the sink and washed my hands, all the while ignoring Mari and her incessant questions.
"…Where were you while she was being attacked?" I demanded finally, the question that had been burning in my mind ever since Mari showed up.
"We got separated in the crowd. She took off to save some kid and I lost her."
"You were supposed to be looking out for her," I snapped, "She's just a kid herself."
"I…" she said meekly, avoiding my gaze.
"Go," I said, eyes narrowed.
"Go…where?" she asked blankly.
"How should I know? Go home. Go to your sister's house. Go back to the Cup and get killed by Death Eaters for all I care," I growled.
"Death Eaters?"
"Supporters of the Dark Lord. Now go."
"Okay, okay. Jeez. Olivia was wrong about you," she muttered, preparing to Disapparate.
"Wait," I said, knowing I was going to regret it, "What does that mean?"
"Well she likes you- you know that, don't you?"
"Duh."
"She said you weren't always mean…and something about 'kind eyes'," she said with an eye roll, "She was adamant about that part."
"Hmph. You can leave now."
"Fine," she said and Disapparated with a pop.
I went back into the sitting room where Olivia was still asleep on the couch. The combination of exhaustion and medicine assured me she wouldn't wake for some time. Still, she would be more comfortable upstairs, in her own bed. I lifted her gently and slowly carried her upstairs. She didn't weigh much so I had no trouble carrying her. Her fingers grasped the front of my roves but other than that she gave no sign of consciousness.
I lay her gently in her bed, uncurled her fingers from my robes, and sat down on the edge of the bed with a sigh. I looked down at Olivia's sleeping figure. She still had a trickle of blood on her chin. I wiped it away, thinking that this happened too much. She got hurt too much. Whenever I wasn't around. I hated when she got hurt…but I didn't know what to do about it.
I sat with her a while longer, then went to my room. When I opened the door, Mouse rushed out. I'd left the door to Olivia's room cracked and the cat hurried inside. I watched as she leapt onto the bed and curled up beside Olivia.