I Walk Alone,

Chapter 20, The Other Brother

Throughout the rest of that school year, Severus thought frequently about the concept of power that the Headmaster had introduced to them on their day of detention in his office. Of course being powerless meant that someone else had your power, but often one didn't think about it like something that they just handed over.

Instead one could feel as if power was simply taken away, but Albus Dumbledore knew better and now so did Severus. He never forgot it and the realization was turning his mind more and more to ways of keeping his power. Clutching onto it so that it would be all his to use and no one else's. Of course this manifested itself in his choice to keep his emotions more in check when it came to the Gryffindor Gang of Gits. Showing his emotional hand too readily clearly gave away too much power. If they had to guess what he was thinking or planning, it put him in charge of that game, or at least more in charge of it.

They may be three or four to his one, depending on the day, but he was smarter and better than all of them. And of course Heather and Raislen took any opportunity to pay the Gits back when they could as well. For his part, Raislen pretended to play pranks on them. It was a pretense, because where his pranks were amusing and harmless to his friends, they were more uncomfortable and embarrassing for the Gryffindor Gits.

Severus channeled his efforts for keeping his own power into planning toward his future. There was only so many ways a twelve-year-old could have power. As Raislen was always so fond of saying, knowledge was power. With that ever in mind, Severus buckled down even more when it came to books and hands on magical practice of all sorts. Of course he dedicated the most attention to the things he loved most, potions, Dark Arts, defense, Wards, Charms, and magical history, but he studied all of it. Well most of it, as he did tend to neglect Transfigurations simply because his utter lack of enjoyment in the art as well as the class sapped his energy. Perhaps it was due to being immersed in his studies, but thankfully interactions with the Gryffindor Gits were sparse for the rest of the year. Oh there were certainly run-ins, but they were few and far between. Though Severus didn't always come out on top, he never failed to leave his mark so that the gang couldn't feel entirely victorious.

Due to the fact he always leaned toward darker studies where the Gits did not, his retaliative hexes always left a sting for them to remember him by. Once Heather paid a Gryffindor Prefect to 'accidentally' lock them out of their own common room for several hours which was precious. When the school year ended, Raislen and Heather promised to write as they had last year. Raislen's family was off to Ireland for the summer to book hunt, but Heather was staying home. She'd begged her parents for a relaxing summer this year, so they agreed to take some time out of touring.

Eileen surprised Severus with a note the day before everyone was to return home on the Hogwarts Express. She told him not to ride the train, but instead to wait for her to pick him up in the Headmaster's office because she had a surprise for him. Though disappointed to miss the train ride with Heather and Raislen, Severus was excited to see what his Mum had planned.

"Try to have a good summer, Kid," Raislen said, giving Severus a quick hug as he and Heather headed out.

"Yes, and I'll write as soon as I have anything interesting to say," Heather said, ruffling his hair as she passed. "If there is nothing interesting, I'll write in a week for sure just to see how you are." Severus waved them off as they lugged their heavy trunks out of the school. Once they were out of sight with the other departing students, he hurried to Headmaster Dumbledore's office to meet his mum. When he arrived, the two were chatting. Both wore serious expressions that made Severus feel oddly uncomfortable. He was relatively certain they were speaking of him. Both Eileen and Dumbledore brightened as he entered, and Eileen wasted no time in sharing her surprise. It was a three day stay at the Three Broomsticks. "I thought it would be nice to spend a few days knocking around town...away from your grandfather. We can eat out and shop, and just enjoy ourselves," she said.

"Brilliant," Severus said. He threw his arms around her and hugged her tight. "Thanks, Mum!" Any excuse not to return to Grandfather prince's was good, but this miniature vacation did sound like great fun. He was eager to have his Mum's attention all to himself. At Grandfather's she was overworked with making potions for the shops she sold to and emotionally beaten down from her father's constant disapproval when it came to...basically everything she or Severus ever did.

Headmaster Dumbledore wished them a good summer and they left Hogwarts. Chatting randomly about this and that just for the sake of doing so, they walked into town. Eileen floated Severus's trunks along behind them with her own, and both were in a light carefree mood. The weather was pleasant, and it just felt good to be outside. Neither was much of an outdoors person by nature, but both could enjoy it on occasion, especially when doing something they particularly liked.

They took their time with a leisurely stroll through town. First they went to drop off their trunks at The Three Broomsticks. Eileen paid for a room with two beds and they took a few minutes to settle in before heading back out into town. The afternoon was full of shop browsing and ice cream. They returned to the Three Broomsticks for dinner, then went up to their room for a long overdue family game night. Eileen had packed several board games.

Some were magical and some were those Muggle ones that Severus and she used to play with Tobias. For too many years, playing them was too sad for them to stand. At last, though, they could enjoy them again, thinking of the man who'd taught them both how to play with fond smiles rather than sadness. Enjoying Tobias's memory together, away from the condemning glare of Grandfather Prince, added an extra element to their time of family bonding. The next two days were much the same, with their mornings and afternoons spent in town and evenings spent relaxing at the Three Broomsticks. Spending this time with his mum showed Severus just how much he'd missed her while at school. Being away from Prince Manor was amazingly freeing for them both. It just felt so much more mentally healthy. They were free to laugh and chat without the certainty of a rude comment from the Prince family patriarch. They were free to just be happy.

For too long, simple happiness had not seemed easy for either of them. Of course when their three day vacation was over, and they had to return home, the difference was definitely felt. It was far easier to be themselves, to expand into their full potential away from Prince Manor. Severus's mum was his happy place, and he was hers, but neither could fully bloom or be themselves under the cold influence of Grandfather Prince. Even when he wasn't in a room, his cold influence permeated everything from the decor down to the ever present chill in the air. The place was never warm, even in the summer.

Severus's bedroom, just under the attic, was the only room in the place aside from the attic itself not to have a chill. The rising of the summer heat made it extremely stifling. Unfortunately, this meant that it was quite uncomfortable, which didn't serve to improve Severus's mood. Heather's letters were far more frequent than Raislen's as she was home where he traveled. She and Severus mainly wrote back and forth about the books they were currently reading as neither had big summer plans.

Heather was happy to remain at home for some restful peace and quiet' as she put it, but Severus would've preferred to be anywhere else. Grandfather Prince never missed an opportunity to put Severus or Eileen down, so his very presence was infuriating. As such, Severus would've given anything to be away from it. Near the end of the summer, Heather wrote to announce that she'd been made a Prefect. She was excited about this, believing it would give her more power to get the Gryffindor Gang of Gits in trouble when they started in on Severus. Severus had to admit that thought was an uplifting one. Raislen wrote to both twice over the summer, mostly listing off the new books he'd gotten so they could request the ones they wished to borrow. Their book requests were the ones he'd bring along to Hogwarts with him. Though many sounded intriguing, the one Severus was most eager to see was called Lost Potions Of Ancient Rome. The book was as good as he'd hoped. It was so fascinating, in fact, that he was more interested in reading it on the train than chatting with Raislen and Heather.

"He doesn't even want to talk to us," Heather huffed, reaching to tug the book gently from Severus's hands. She made sure to be gentle because the book was very old.

"I wrote to you all summer," Severus protested. "I think we exchanged sixteen letters."

"But you haven't written sixteen times to Raislen, or heard how his trip went. I want to know how he found books about Rome in Ireland."

"It was a really good book shop," Raislen said. His expression was full of awe, which made Severus really want to see that book store if it could impress Raislen that much. "They had stuff from everywhere...and I do mean everywhere, including some places that no longer exist."

"Wow," Heather breathed. "I have envy."

"Same here," Severus agreed, reaching to take the book on ancient Roman potions back from Heather. "I am going to soothe my envy by reading this book, because for now, it is as close as I'll get to that store."

Heather sighed in resignation, lifting her hands in defeat as Severus reclaimed his treasure. He was still reading during the sorting, due to having no interest in any of the first year prats. That was until a name filtered through his consciousness, causing rage filled adrenaline to shoot through him. "Black, Regulus," Professor Mcgonagall called out. Could there truly be another one? Was fate truly that unkind? Sirius Black was bad enough. With a brother at his side, adding to his raging gitness, Severus didn't know if he'd be able to stand it. He'd beg to transfer to Durmstrang. He'd run away. He'd..."

The kid was far smaller than his prattish older brother, and held his head proudly as he approached the stool for his sorting. What was he so proud of, Severus wondered darkly. How well he could bully someone? Sirius and James would just love to have another prat in their gang, he was sure. To make matters even worse, Severus was too vexed to enjoy the book on Roman potions, at least for the moment.