Summer
Scratch scratch scratch
Lavinia looked up from her book as she heard an incessant scratching at her bedroom window and turned to see an owl sitting on the window sill with an envelope in its beak.
“Stonebriar Apothecary is in the basement,” she said and went back to her book. Her father had been receiving so many owls lately, the customers at her mothers pharmacy were starting to ask questions. It was his own fault for subscribing to so many catalogues, but despite her directions, the owl still screeched and scratched at her window. “Alright already!”
She stood up, setting her copy of One Thousand Herbs and Fungi aside and went over to the window. Upon opening it, the owl stuck its head inside and passed her the envelope. To Lavinia’d surprise, it was addressed to her snd she’d never received mail directly before. The wax seal on the from was a large letter H. It suddenly occurred to her what the letter could be and she wasted no time tearing it open.
Dear Miss Lavinia Stonebriar,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry-
Lavinia hugged the note close to her chest and jumped up and down. She’d been waiting for her Hogwarts letter ever since her father told her about his school days there when she was little. Excitedly, she ran out of her room, out of the apartment and down the stairs to the pharmacy where her mother stood speaking with a customer.
“Mum!” she called softly from the doorway. “Mum!”
“Not now Lavinia,” her mother said, not unkindly. “Mummy’s working, dear.”
“But I’ve got something to tell you!”
“Go tell Dad first, I’ll be there soon.”
Lavinia rolled her eyes, not sure what she was expecting from her mother, but did as she was told, going downstairs even further to the basement where her father hovered over his bras scales as he measured ingredients. Most people would recoil from the smell of an apothecary, the smell of various fungi and animal organs, but for Lavinia the smell carried the comforts of home.
“Dad?” Lavinia tried, but the man didn’t look up. “Dad!”
This time he jumped, knocking over the scales and toad spleens in them all over the table.
“Oh, Lavinia, darling,” he breathed and went about cleaning his work station. “What are you doing? You know you’re not supposed to be down here during business hours.”
“I know, but-”
“No buts young lady. Why don’t you go back upstairs and-”
“I got my Hogwarts letter!”
Dad turned quickly to face her and broke out into a huge smile. He ran over and pulled her into a hug.
“You did? That’s marvelous, darling!”
This was the reaction Lavinia had been hoping for. While it wasn’t spoken of often, when her father spoke of his time at Hogwarts it was always remembered fondly. He told her that Hogwarts would be some of the best years of her life and she believed him. She loved magic when she was able to see it in action. Having grown up in an apothecary had given her a special love of potions, she’d been practicing with them for years and now she had the chance to learn from a real potions master.
“We’ll take you to Diagon Alley and pick up your school supplies,” Dad said. “I’ll supply your potions ingredients myself. I want to make sure you have only the best!”
“Do I get a family discount?” Lavinia asked and giggled as her dad pinched her cheek.
“Where’d you get such a smart mouth?” he laughed. “Now go back upstairs and start packing your trunk. I’ll let Mum know.”
Lavinia nodded and let her dad go back to his experiment. She didn’t even try again with her mother as she passed the pharmacy, the line at the counter was even longer than it had been when she came down. Her parents were devoted to their work, experimenting with magical and muggle medicine, and Lavinia respected that. Though she wished their passions ran a little cooler at times, it’s what helped inspire her love of potions. That was definitely the subject she was looking forward to the most. She’d learned a little here and there from her parents work, but becoming a potions master herself would be of great use to them. Her father had mentioned that the current potions professor at Hogwarts was the youngest the school had ever seen, their skills must have been astounding, and had also quickly become the head of Slytherin house.
Lavinia couldn’t help but wonder which house she’d be placed in. Her father, coming from a pure blood family, had been in Slytherin, he still wore his green and silver scarf when the weather turned cold. That house was known for its ambition and Lavinia had plenty of that, but he had also spoken of Ravenclaw that was known for housing the most intelligent students and Lavinia sincerely hoped that she’d be one of those students. Dad hadn’t mentioned much else about the other houses, other than having a few friends in Hufflepuff. She supposed she’d find out soon enough.
It took almost a month to get her parents to take her to Diagon Alley and Lavinia was beginning to get nervous. There was only two weeks left until school started! She was so far behind, she’d yet to get a single thing on her supplies list, save for the potions ingredients her father supplied. And despite that, their first step in the Alley was the damn apothecary.
“We’ll only be a minute, darling,” Dad had promised her, though Lavinia knew that a “minute” really meant an hour. They’d brought Mum with them and he was eager to show her around the wizarding world, though their main concern was conferring with their colleagues.
Lavinia stood outside waiting for the first hour as patiently as she could, but another half hour later she couldn’t take it anymore. She went inside, fully prepared to give her parents a thorough talking to about the preciousness of time and their growing lack of it, when her father shoved a bag of galleons into her hands.
“Why don’t you get a head start without us and we’ll catch up later,” he said giving her a quick smile before turning back to the shop owner.
“We put a little extra in their too,” Mum said, patting her daughter’s shoulder. “Get yourself something special for school!”
Before Lavinia could get a word in, she was turned around and escorted back outside, with the door slamming shut behind her. With a heavy sigh, she took out her supplies list and headed straight for Olivander’s.
Diagon Alley was filled with a bustling crowd as it always was, perhaps more so now that the new school year was starting. Lavinia relished in it, soaking up the magic she saw all around her. Her home town of Cokeworth was a muggle town, so everyday magic in her house was kept to a minimum, it felt like her family was living in hiding. Here, however, magic was everywhere, rom the witches and wizards walking the street to the enchanted moving signs above each shop. In absolutely no rush, Lavinia her sweet time walking so she could savor every moment of it.
Upon entering the old as dirt wand shop, she found the man himself going through drawer after drawer as if he were looking for something.
“Excuse me,” Lavinia said, waving to the man. “Are you busy? I can come back later.”
“Not at all child,” Olivander said and shuffled over to the counter. “What can I do for you, Miss…”
“Stonebriar.”
“Ah yes. Lavinia, isn’t it.”
“You know my name?”
“Of course I do, you came in here with your father four years ago to get a replacement wand. I believe he sat on his previous one, is that right? Twelve inches, rowan with a unicorn hair core. I never forget a wand Miss Stonebriar.”
Lavinia snorted and tried to keep her composure as she was reminded of the incident. She could still remember the horrified look on her dad’s color drained face like it was yesterday. It was one of the few times she’d been allowed to go to Diagon Alley with him. Still, she was surprised that the wand marker remembered that one day.
“Yes, that’s right.” she said.
“And now you’ve come here for a wand of your own I see. Very well, a moment please.”
Olivander set about going over the boxes he had stacked against the wall and came back with a few options. Lavinia tested one after another until she had gone through five wands, she’d almost given up home. She was also beyond embarrassed at the damage she’d done to the poor old man’s shop. In the course of three minutes she had shattered a vase, over turned his desk, blown out all of his drawers, enlarged a hideous spider to the size of a golden retriever and set a small fire. Yet no matter what problem she caused, Olivander didn’t get cross or raise his voice. He simply cleaned up the mess with a wave of his own wand and moved onto the next one.
“How about we give this one a try,” he said, handing her a light brown wand with old runes carved into the handle. “Pear wood, twelve and a half inches, with a phoenix feather core.”
Hesitantly, Lavinia took the wand in hand, feeling a sharp tingle go up her arm and straight to her heart. At Olivander’s nod, she gave it a swish and this time a soft glow emanated from the tip, lightly pulsing until it faded away.
“Perfect,” the wand maker said. “What do you think?”
“It’s wonderful,” Lavinia smiled. Until today she’d only ever experienced “accidental” magic, like the time she’d “accidentally” used her powers to lock her parents in the basement while she raided the cookie jar when she was two. This feeling she had with the wand in her hand was mind blowing, never before had she felt this light.
Lavinia paid the seven galleons for her wand, bid Olivander a good day, and set out to gather the rest of her school supplies. Flourish and Blots already had stacks of text books ready for first year students and the potion supplies store was running a special on pewter cauldrons. The shop keepers were also nice enough to shrink everything down for her to carry in her pockets. When she finally finished and was making her way back to the apothecary, she passed by Eeylops Owl Emporium and stopped to look at the display.
Owls of every kind were out on perches and in cages, acting surprisingly lively for it being the middle of the afternoon. Several owls were flying overhead carrying various letters and packages. All her life Lavinia had seen owls come and go, she longed for one of her own. Just as her mother had promised, there was a handful of galleons left for her to spend on something special and she couldn’t think of anything more special than a new feathered friend.
Venturing inside the emporium, Lavinia squinted as her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. The owls inside were much more reserved than the ones outside, preening their wings and hooting at anyone who came close. In the corner furthest from the front door, a tawny owl sat in its cage, cleaning its feathers. As she got a closer look at it, she saw that it was missing its left eye. It looked over to her and softly hooted, beckoning her forward. Lavinia cautiously slid her finger between the this bars of the cage and allowed the owl to affectionately nibble on her before it let her stroke its feathers.
“I can’t believe you got that grouchy bugger to let you stroke him!” the woman behind the shops counter gaped. “Last person who tried almost lost a finger.”
Lavinia blanched at that, but didn’t stop petting the bird. It was acting so sweet, she couldn’t believe it was a biter. She’d dealt with her fair share of aggressive owls that had delivered mail to her house, one in particular that nearly took her eye out when she was little, but it never marred her opinion of the beautiful creatures.
“How much for it?” she asked.
“Ten galleons and I’ll throw in the cage and a bag of treats for taking him off my hands.”
Unable to say no to a deal like that, Lavinia placed the last of her galleons on the counter and left with her new friend in hand.
“You need a name, don’t you,” she said to the owl. “I’ve always thought about getting an owl and naming it Nettle. That’s my favorite potions ingredient. What do you think about that name?”
The owl said nothing, only blinked up at her with his good eye.
“I’ll take that as a ‘sure’.”
Lavinia, despite having to spend such an important day alone, returned to the apothecary in high spirits to collect her parents, who were in the exact same spot she left them in. However, instead of just the shop owner, they were also speaking to a tall dark haired man in his early twenties, in long black robed with a hooked nose. He didn’t look happy to be speaking to them, though judging by the frown lines on his mouth and forehead, it didn’t look as if he’d been happy ever.
“And what brings you here professor?” the shop owner asked the dark haired man. “I assumed you had all of your stores at Hogwarts.”
“I do,” the man said, his tone dead, “but I’m afraid my monkshood has contracted a swarm of parasites.”
“Oh, Lavinia,” Dad called out when he caught sight of her in the doorway. “Come here, darling. This is Professor Snape, he’ll be teaching you potions at Hogwarts.”
Lavinia suddenly felt very shy as she approached her future professor. He looked her up and down with a sneer, but it didn’t put her off like she supposed it should have. Instead of recoiling with her own look of disgust, which she wouldn’t dare do with her parents so close by, she held out her free hand to shake. Professor Snape regarded her for a long moment, perhaps waiting for her to shrink back, but Lavinia stood her ground. As if daring him to deny her in front of the crowded shop. Eventually, with a barely hidden roll of his eyes, he took her hand, gave it a firm shake and quickly pulled back.
“I’m looking forward to your class, Professor,” Lavinia said,, finally finding her voice.
“Let’s see if you’re able to maintain that sentiment once the class actually begins,” Professor Snape muttered and turned his back to her to return to his shopping.
Despite his cold demeanor and even colder handshake, Lavinia wasn't deterred by him. Instead she felt challenged. Once her family returned home, she went upstairs to her room with Nettle and began reading her new copy of Magical Drafts and Potions. She wanted to be as prepared as possible for whatever Professor Snape would throw at her.
“What an odd man,” she mused, setting her book down to go feed Nettle. “He certainly made an impression.”
She fed her owl a few treats and brought him out of the cage.
“He was a little scary, but also kind of an arse. I don’t think he likes kids very much. Boy is he in the wrong line of work. I guess I’ll find out more once school starts.”
Lavinia took Nettle over to the window and let him outside to stretch his wings. She watched as he soared through the evening sky and let her thoughts drift off with him in the breeze.