"I realize I have not properly introduced myself," he told her. "I am Severus Snape. I teach potions at Hogwarts. During your time there, you will refer to me as Professor Snape." He waited for a response, but got none. They were still waiting for their tea to arrive, but Severus had already bitten into a scone. Flora had not touched anything.
"Those creatures are called goblins. They run all wizard banks in Europe. They do not normally speak to customers that way, I think you impressed them." He waited again, but Flora only stared at him blankly. "Do you speak?" he finally asked, dreading her answer. She shook her head. "Why not?"
She looked around nervously for a moment before her eyes shot down to the napkin on the table, and Severus got the idea. He brought out a quill, and handed it to her along with the napkin.
She wrote the note quickly but her penmanship was excellent, especially for her first time using a quill.
I'm not allowed, it said.
"You are allowed to speak, now," Severus told her. She simply stared at him with that blank expression on her face. He knew it would take more convincing for the girl to open her mouth.
After convincing her that she was allowed to eat, they drank their tea and ate their biscuits in silence. Severus led Flora to Madam Milken's and left her to be fitted for an entire new wardrobe. He needed to send a quick letter to Dumbledore.
"I have an errand to run," he told her. "Do not leave this shop until I return for you, do you understand?" She nodded. He then turned to the young worker. "She does not speak," he told her before hurrying out of the store. Flora watched him until he disappeared before turning to the madam.
"Hello there," she said warmly, bending down to meet Flora's eyes. "Do you have any favorite colors?" Flora clasped her hands and shook her head.
"That's okay," she said, the smile never leaving her face. "Let's get your measurements first." Tape measures flew toward her and began taking all sorts of measurements. While initially surprised, Flora was soon smiling. The pink glow coming off the instruments was beautiful, and it was swirling all around her now.
"You're new to magic, aren't you?" she asked sweetly.
Flora nodded. The tape measures were done now, and the young lady was leading Flora towards the clothes. She helped Flora pick out some muggle outfits before moving onto her school clothes. They picked out some casual wear and pajamas last. The girl had really tried her hardest to convince Flora to get some dresses or skirts, but Flora had been adamantly shaking her head the whole time, so she let it go. Even for her uniform, Flora had insisted on pants. The robes were black of course, but for her muggle clothes Flora had picked dark colors. Greys, greens, and blues.
Snape had still not returned, so the worker shrunk all the clothes, minus one outfit for Flora to change into, and put them in a small bag, smiling at the way Flora's face lit up at the sight of magic. Clothing taken care of, Flora sat in a chair by the door to wait.
After waiting for a few minutes, a boy walked in with his mother. The mother walked towards the desk quickly, gave the lady her son's measurements and began arguing with the poor girl about everything she picked out. The boy took the seat next to Flora.
"Hello," he said. "Hogwarts too?"
He seemed nice, with his wide, curious eyes and his slicked back hair. Flora nodded in response.
"My name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." He held out his hand to her and she took it. Flora had overheard Vernon teaching Dudley how to properly shake hands, and while she usually despised everything the man had to say, she followed his advice. She grasped Draco's hand firmly, shook it twice, and withdrew. Draco looked impressed and opened his mouth to speak, but was distracted by the door's bell.
"Uncle Severus!" he exclaimed, jumping out of his seat, and running to the man that had changed Flora's life.
"Draco!" his mother scolded. "Remember your manners, we are in public."
"Hello, Narcissa," Snape said while patting Draco's head. He glanced at Flora for just a second before paying for her things.
"What brings you here today, Severus?" the woman asked.
"Escorting a new student," he said, pointing towards Flora. The woman seemed surprised, like she hadn't even noticed another child in the shop.
"Oh, hello dear," she said, "What's your name?"
Flora looked between the woman, Draco, and Snape, but didn't answer.
"This is Flora Potter," Snape said. "She doesn't speak much." There was something in his voice that Flora could not identify.
"You didn't tell me you were Flora Potter," Draco accused. He had his hands on his hips, and his face was all pinched up. Flora felt ashamed, but she didn't know why. She felt blood rush into her cheeks as Snape excused the two of them, stating that they had a busy schedule.
They got her potions supplies next, then astronomy supplies, then her school books and writing instruments. All done in silence. Severus usually loved silence. Under other circumstances, this would be his ideal trip with a new student. But now he was anxious. The silence was suffocating. He wanted her to ask questions, to make requests, to be annoying. It would be so much easier to hate her that way. This was James Potter's child for Merlin's sake. And Lily's, said a small voice at the very back of his mind. He led her to Magical Menagerie next.
"A friend of your parents requested that I purchase you a familiar. You may have an owl, a toad, or a cat," he told her, and gestured for her to explore the store. She moved forward slowly, looking at each animal carefully before moving on to the next. She showed no regard for what animal she was allowed to get, she looked at them all. When she finally stopped, it was in front of a small white kitten. The kitten perked up upon her arrival and another kitten, this one pure black, stepped out besides it.
Snape was never a fan of loud noise, and he'd already had such a stunning and awkward morning that he couldn't focus on Flora over all of the different animals squawking. When he finally remembered what he was supposed to be doing, he found Flora on the floor with two kittens. The scene almost brought tears to his eyes, Lily had loved cats. She'd been heartbroken upon learning that her parents wouldn't allow her to take their cat with her to Hogwarts.
Flora looked up to Snape with a pleading look, the closest she'd gotten to actually asking for anything. It broke his heart to remind her that Hogwarts only allowed one pet.
"Now, now," the shopkeeper spoke before he could open his mouth, "Hogwarts had always made exceptions when necessary. Those two have been here for a long time, they're a rare subspecies of Kneezle that remain kittens until they choose a young witch or wizard to bond with. I'm afraid they've chosen your daughter, sir, you can see it in their tails. They've already begun to age, evident in the new silver rings."
"She's not my daughter," Snape corrected, "But I do suppose you're right. I'm sure it won't be a problem."
After paying for the kittens, a carrier, food, treats, and care books, the only thing left to purchase was her wand. This was the part of the trip that Severus was looking forward to the least. He and Lily had gotten their wands together. She should've been here to see Flora get hers. Before entering the shop, Snape stopped and turned to Flora.
"Mr. Ollivander is… peculiar. It's best not to put any stock into what he says," Snape told her. She nodded and entered the store before him, something she hadn't done before. Ollivander was peculiar indeed, spouting off his knowledge of her parents' visits, and mumbling to himself as she tried wand after wand. She had gone through over a hundred, and was looking rather tired when Ollivander handed her another one. This one was different; the look on the shopkeeper's face was hungry with anticipation. Severus was disappointed when it became obvious that this was the wand for Flora. He had wanted to see the old man's face fall. Before Ollivander could say anything, Severus threw down seven galleons and rushed Flora out the door. She continued to hold onto the cat carrier tightly as Severus led her back through the streets of Diagon Ally. Just as they were about to enter The Leaky Cauldron, Flora spotted the white haired boy and his mother again. This time there was a man with them, his hair was the same shade as Draco's, but it fell down his back. Flora waved when their eyes met, and Draco waved back quickly before saying something to his parents and running over to her.
"Hi again," he said, slightly out of breath. "Sorry about before, I've never met anyone that was more famous than me before." He wore a smirk now, but Flora was confused.
Famous? She thought, How could I be famous?
She looked up to Snape for an answer, but Draco's parents had arrived by then.
"Severus," the man greeted. "And Miss… Potter…"
Flora didn't like the way this man was looking at her. He was sizing her up the same way Dudley and his friends did before they chased and beat her.
"Lucius," Snape replied coolly.
"How fortunate it is that we ran into you today," Lucius was saying. "We've been meaning to owl you for dinner all week. Since you're already here, why don't we grab a bite?"
Now it was his smile that made Flora uncomfortable. It was eerily like Vernon's. Predatory was the only word to describe it. The kittens didn't like him either, they had retreated to the furthest corner of the carrier with poofed tails. Although she was determined to keep looking up at the man, her nerves won out. On their way to the floor, her eyes caught on something though. A dense aura surrounded his left forearm. It was dark green, with black tendrils swirling about. She could just barely see it rippling over his robe sleeves, and would have missed it altogether if he hadn't jerked slightly when he saw her looking.
She'd seen the same ripple over Professor Snape's forearm as well. She hadn't paid it any mind, but everyone she'd come across gave off different colors. Draco was lavender, it swirled around his hands when he was excited. His mother's was a bright blue that reminded her of a flame, it pulsed when she had scolded Draco in the shop. But Mr. Malfoy and Professor Snape had the exact same concentration of magic in the same place. Something she'd store away for later.
"I'm afraid Miss Potter and I have some pressing matters to attend to today, Lucius," Snape replied.
"Ah, of course." He clasped his hands together and feigned disappointment. "Another time then."
Lucius shot another predatory look Flora's way, then the Malfoy family went towards Gringotts.
"I'll see you at school!" Draco called to her, and she nodded in response.
Once inside the bar, Snape turned to Flora and told her they would be apparating again. Flora had already decided that she didn't like apparation, but she supposed it couldn't be helped. She mentally prepared as she grabbed Snape's arm with one hand, and drew her new companions close to her with the other.