Literacy Lessons:

On Saturday, Lucy was woken up by Snape very early. He told her to eat and then return for her lessons. He only had time on the weekends while school was in session, and he intended to make good use of it. Once summer came, they would need to focus on her studies to make her ready for school.

This lesson would be on the alphabet. Since he wasn't sure how much she knew, they would start from the beginning.

"The alphabet is a very simple concept. They are the roots to all reading and writing. They form the words that form the story." He paused, looking at her blank expression. "Am I boring you, Miss Drake?" Lucy shook her head and tried to focus. "The alphabet starts with A. Then, B follows it." He continued, writing the letters in two different ways on a piece of parchment each time.

"Write each letter and tell me what it is." Lucy picked up the quill awkwardly. She wrote a big A. "This one is the A in big writing."

"Uppercase. The first ones I wrote are uppercase, and the second ones are lowercase." Lucy continued, using the proper terms this time.

xXx

Their lessons continued like that on weekends and sometimes after his classes when he could spare the time. She mastered the alphabet after a couple lessons and actually started writing other things such as her name, 'Lucille Anne Drake', his name, 'Severus Tobias Snape', and simple words like, 'cat', 'owl', 'wand', and 'toad'. Snape only told her how to spell his full name if for some emergency. She was to tell no one - especially Tonks - about it.

Tonks was getting busier the further the school year went on. She said she had big tests to study for that were important for her career. Lucy wished she had more time for her, but didn't want to be a nuisance. Severus told Lucy to prepare for when she would have to say goodbye to her friend. Lucy wasn't preparing because she saw no reason to say goodbye if they continued to be friends.

She had become quite attached to reading; though she was very slow. It was a sort of escape from the world. When she read, she was no longer part of this world, but rather, a new one with happy endings and straightforward plots. The books Severus provided her were all new readers' books and made her feel like he thought she was too stupid to read regular books.

When she snuck into the library a few times to try to read some books, they were challenging for her. Most of them were about school subjects, and not easy for her to get through. One time, she found a storybook called Mystified Magic by Harrietta Hurntes. It was about a young girl who found out she had magical powers and made friends in a new world. It was kind of cheesy, but she still liked it better than the textbooks. Severus tried to give her a theory on potions textbook, but she fell asleep during the first attempt. He worried for her future academic career.

xXx

Christmas Eve was tomorrow and Lucy was nervous. She had never had a Christmas before, so she felt bad about not being in such a joyous mood as all of the other people in the castle aside from Snape. Tonks had left to spend the holidays with her family, and most of the other students had too. She hadn't really made any more friends aside from Tonks, but she didn't really mind that much. Severus had even stopped muttering every time she spoke about her.

It was actually quite nice with so few people in the castle. Apparently, the Great Hall would be decorated and there would be a special Christmas Feast.

She was supposed to be inside working on her reading, but Lucy was leaning up against a tree by the big lake instead. She lost track of time as the book lay open beside her and her eyes drifted closed. The waves were her lullaby.

xXx

Severus found her much later by the lake, unsurprised to find her shirking her responsibilities to her lessons. He cleared his throat, knowing she was a light enough sleeper for that to be enough.

She looked at him in confusion, before noticing how low the sun was in the sky. It must have been close to dinner time. She gathered her things and followed him to the Great Hall, thankful he didn't mention her being outside the castle alone. She paused at the sight of the tree covered in shiny baubles.

Severus turned back to see what held her up. "Yes?" He followed her gaze. "The Christmas Tree." He had already explained to her some basic holidays to avoid future social mishaps that could embarrass her - and him.

"But why? I thought it was about presents and people you love."

"It's symbolic." Severus replied. "If you recall, for some the holiday is more than that - a religious celebration for their deity."

Lucy nodded and they went to the high table. Since most of the students and staff were gone, she chose to sit next to Severus during the break.

xXx

After dinner, Severus reminded her that she had some reading to finish before she could go to bed.

The story he had assigned her to read was called The Tale of the Three Brothers by Beedle the Bard:

"There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through and too dangerous to swim across.. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. They were halfway across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure.

And Death spoke to them. He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for travelers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade him.

So the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death! So Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that hung there, and gave it to the oldest brother.

Then the second brother, who was an arrogant man, decided that he wanted to humiliate Death still further, and asked for the power to recall others from Death. So Death picked up a stone from the riverbank and gave it to the second brother, and told him that the stone would have the power to bring back the dead.

And then Death asked the third and youngest brother what he would like. The youngest brother was the humblest and also the wisest of the brothers, and he did not trust Death. So he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. And death, most unwillingly, handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility.

Then Death stood aside and allowed the three brothers to continue on their way, and they did so, talking with wonder of the adventure they had had, and admiring Death's gifts. In due course the brothers separated, each for his own destination.

The first brother traveled on for a week or more, and reaching a distant village, sought out a fellow wizard with whom he had a quarrel. Naturally with the Elder Wand as his weapon, he could not fail to win the duel that followed. Leaving his enemy dead upon the floor, the oldest brother proceeded to an inn, where he boasted loudly of the powerful wand he had snatched from Death himself, and of how it made him invincible.

That very night, another wizard crept upon the oldest brother as he lay, wine-sodden, upon his bed. The thief took the wand and, for good measure, slit the oldest brother's throat.

And so Death took the first brother for his own.

Meanwhile, the second brother journeyed to his own home, where he lived alone. Here he took out the stone that had the power to recall the dead, and turned it thrice in his hand. To his amazement and his delight, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry, before her untimely death, appeared at once before him.

Yet she was sad and cold, separated from him as by a veil. Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not truly belong there and suffered. Finally the second brother, driven mad with hopeless longing, killed himself so as truly to join her.

And so Death took the second brother for his own.

But though Death searched for the third brother for many years, he was never able to find him. It was only when he had attained a great age that the youngest brother finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. And then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, as equals, they departed this life."

When she finished the story, she was confused. Was the point of the story to encourage young people to welcome death? Or hide from it? One thing was for sure, this was the first book she actually cared to know more about of all the books Severus had given her to read. She was still thinking about the story as she fell asleep.