Chapter 3: [Benetnasch POV] Flouish and Blotts

Summary:

Actually, not a purchasing scene

Reedited2023/2/19

A week before the start of the term, August 24th, 1971

Benetnasch was finally at Diagon Alley with Remus, buying their school things. After nearing a month of relentless waiting, things were finally on sale, being so close to the term's start.

It wasn't that any of their families were unaffordable; Remus was the son of a high-ranking ministry member, and Benetnasch came from a family that had governed the Fawley village for hundreds of years. It was just that they had come to expect Lady Fawley as the ever-practical woman.

And because she had no worries about the possibility that her daughter might be left behind in schoolwork, Benetnasch couldn't help but think bitterly.

It was an old disagreement within their family.

While Benetnasch had expected to be educated in magic in the household, which she thought was only rational as then she could get a head start with her magical background, her mother had instead chosen to engage her in the studies of feminine arts, such as dancing, music, and drawing, all the subjects required to become a lady, which her mother was and had come to expect of her to follow her footsteps.

Luckily, then her father had come to her rescue and offered to teach her some magic in exchange for her paying attention to her mother's lessons.

She still remembered his words to her: "You need not find your mother's hesitation about you learning magic now frustrating. When she was a young lass like you, she poured her time into trying to become the perfect lady that was expected of her before she entered muggle high society to socialize. Even in conventional wizarding pureblood families, it was normal for young witches to take up at least some form of feminine sport. She is simply disappointed that your upbringing wouldn't be the same as hers and that that would conflict with you becoming a lady like herself. She deeds you are too much like me in appearance for it to be fair if you take after my character as well."

And that couldn't be truer; her mother was the lady, while Benetnasch took after her father in appearance, with the square face and the pale colouring, but it was her father's next words that changed her dismissal of her mother's ways.

"And you know your mother; she prides herself on being a lady. She believes in its power. And she is not wrong: there is huge power behind beauty and grace; there is even more within one's ability to be compassionate and disciplined."

So, she learned her lesson and never scoffed at her mother again.

Still, there was also a secret part of Benetnasch that wondered why her mother would ever bother to participate in muggle high society if she would only consider matrimony with pureblood wizards. Although Benetnasch thought this was a very characteristic thing for her mother, by sticking to common and normal ways, she had chosen to deny originality, a choice that Benetnasch could not appreciate herself.

She thought being the first Countess of Fawley already gave her mother an open door for more change, except her mother had ignored that.

However, once she opened up a bit to her mother, she began to truly appreciate what she had heard about her. The villagers liked to praise her for not just her grace and beauty but also for her gentleness and righteousness. They would seek her counsel and trust her judgment. Her mother hadn't just gained respect among them because of her title, family name and position as ruler of the valley's stronghold.

And now, as rumors of dark magical activity increased steadily across the country, a dark lord surfaced, and his ascent to power was whispered among witches and wizards alike, she even began to wonder: why put men in power when they represent war, competition, and logic, when women represent peace, beauty, and compassion?

Benetnasch knew she would never be her mother, the perfect lady, despite her mother's wishes, her education for her, and sometimes Benetnasch's own adoration for her mother's character. However, this was a topic that had recently wandered into her mind.

It first took place when she was made to understand how her mother received her title of countess. She had thought that with her grandfather being the Earl of Fawley, it was only logical that his only descendant, his daughter, would receive the title after him. Not to mention, her mother was perfect for being the magistrate, which had been the occupational use of the title. Her mother was the kind, gracious, and righteous Lady Fawley, who was ready to take up her new ladyship as Countess of Fawley.

That was not the case, apparently exactly because her mother was a Lady, and Ladies are not permitted to inherit titles, normally.

They had only been allowed to inherit real estate since the Administration of Estates Act of 1925. Their only opening had been the letters patent, which allowed her grandfather to name a special heir. This special heir could be female, but it must go through acceptance by the Queen herself and the high court.

However, in most circumstances, the title would be taken back by the monarch. They had no special connections to the royal family, so no exceptions would be made for them.

No, they had been able to keep their nobility because they were witches and wizards. The late Lord Fawley had enchanted the will so that her grace would be manipulated to go along with his wishes.

Such inequity exists in the world of men, and even one who has been shielded from the exact unfairness of its ways can see it.

And with the coming of this new lord in the magical world, Benetnasch could feel with the instincts of a child that darker times lay ahead.
This was precisely why she suspected other reasons for her father's death and maybe also Remus's misfortune.

But she would never know the answers to her questions if she kept standing in front of Flourish and Blots and not going in. She had ditched Remus, who was picking up his own wand now that she had purchased her own.

She cleared her thoughts, moving on to happier things, and walked in.

She was finally going to Hogwarts! The dove was finally going to be freed from its cage!

Benetnasch had never travelled far from her birthplace, as both her parents preferred to stay inside the bricks of Vengehenge. It had also become a habit for them to shield her from what really happened in the outside world.

As a result, Benetnasch kept a heart full of idealism and romanticism. Benetnasch's father, Tonlagoon, always tells her, "All the stories were true." Still, due to her curiosity and eavesdropping, Benetnasch was nothing if not observant. So how could these stories be true?

However, this was going to be a true conquest! As she walked past bookshelves stacked to the ceiling and dodged older people towering over her—Hogwarts students and their parents—her excitement grew with each passing moment. She thought she even saw the flash of a prefect's badge before reaching the counter.

While she stood there with her book list, waiting to be received by the man behind the counter, she couldn't help but notice a boy that looked like a pre-Hogwarts student like herself standing a few feet away.

He was skinny, his black hair was overlong, and his clothes were so mismatched that it looked deliberate: too short jeans, a shabby, overlarge coat that might have belonged to a grown man, an odd smocklike shirt.

He was the image of a boy that her mother would reject her for associating with.

Benetnasch, on the other hand, believes that her mother places too much emphasis on appearance, and she was intrigued; she had never met anyone who was going to be in her year at Hogwarts before, aside from Remus, who was now practically her brother. Her curiosity got the better of her, however, as she eliminated the distances between them, thinking that if this went well, she was going to have another friend at Hogwarts.

"Hi, you're a first year, right?"

The boy seemed startled at her attempt to start a conversation, but he answered, "Yes, you as well?"

"Of course, Benetnasch Sovermerge, it's a pleasure to meet you." and she held out her hand.

The boy took her hand hesitantly; they shook, and he said, "I'm Severus Snape."

Well, she couldn't let the conversation drop now that she had already gotten his name. So, she said vigorously, "Well, I can't wait for the term to start and to be sorted!"

She noticed his face lighting up immediately; it seemed that she had picked the right subject.

"I'll be in Slytherin," he said in an instant.

Well, that was kind of unexpected, and Benetnasch was aware of the reputation surrounding Slytherin now, but she wasn't going to elaborate on that. It was nice to be able to converse with someone new who was genuinely interested in what they were talking about; you didn't get that a lot when you spent too much time with seniors, and it wasn't that they were unkind; they were just lacking.

"I'm not so sure where I get to be."

"Well, Slytherin's great; my mom's one."

Oh, so that must be the reason why he'd want to go there. Benetnasch thought that was sweet. And she remembered her own family: her father was a Ravenclaw while her mother was a Gryffindor; it would certainly boost her mother's ego if she was sorted into her house.

"So, you are of the sharpest mind, cunning folk that use any means to achieve their ends, aren't you?" Benetnasch joked.

Snape gave her a shy, yet still sly smile.

He seemed to be on the verge of an answer when the man at the counter returned with a huge pile of books. He thrust it into Snape's hands and said, "There you go; now move along; we've got others waiting in line."

"Ermm, bye?" Snape said, his head now blocked behind books.

"Yes, goodbye. See you at Hogwarts!"