A new chapter
SS
Severus Snape was an organized man. He liked his routine. It was save. It’s why he was so strict. He knew the students thought of him with animosity, as evidence by the nicknames given to him. However, order was a prerequisite for the brewing process, and he would be damned if he let any of his students suffer a long-term injury, or worse death. He therefore continued to adhere to his established routine, despite the disruptive actions of others destroying his organized classroom. At least that was how it used to be.
He knew on a rational level, that abuse was not uncomment in the wixen world. Especially with magical children living with non-magical relatives, who are unlikely to be equipped with the knowledge required to handle accidental magic. From his years as head of Slytherin he was aware that some parents could be overly demanding of their children, attempting to mould them into flawless beings without regard for their individual character.
It was therefore particularly perplexing that he found himself back in Diagon Alley with each departing from the school. Watching the masses for a mop of black hair. Maybe it was because the child was not yet at Hogwarts, where he could take action to improve the situation temporarily better. Perhaps it was because he had been mistreated at home and identified with him (facilitated by their similar hair colour). It could also be that he was simply getting older, and that age was bringing with it a certain sentimentality he was unable to control. Whatever the reason, he was once again in Diagon Alley. Moving around between people, he would rather not interact with. Letting his eyes survey every corner and shadow while walking slowly up and down the Alley.
It was approximately a year after he first met the boy, when he finally caught sight of a child with black hair. He was careful not to get his hopes up in case it was another child with similar hair, and he followed, while keeping an eye out for another. The child before him was wearing a cloak that appeared to be a rather muddy colour at first glance. As he continued to observe the item of clothing, the embroidery became increasingly discernible. The boy he had met last year had been wearing old, ill-fitting hand-me-downs. This cloak appeared to be of a higher quality, even given its the muddy colour. Who was he to judge another person’s choice of colour? Still, he had not seen any other children with black hair, so it seemed prudent to follow suit.
The child made his way into Gringotts, greeting the guards with a nod, who responded with a small bow. It was a rather unusual sight for Severus. Typically, the guards would simply stand by the entrance, keeping watch. His curiosity was now fully awake. He had not seen the boy on any of his other visits to the Alley. It was also a Monday and while Hogwarts had already let out, the Muggle school continued for another week.
Upon entering the bank, he was fortunate to witness the child following a goblin to one of the back rooms. After a little over half an hour, he caught sight of the cloak once more. This time, the child was directed towards him. And they were wearing glasses. The glasses did not appear to have the same round shape he remembered, but perhaps the child had acquired a new pair. It had been a year after all. He was careful not to alarm the child, in case it was indeed the same youngster, and promptly departed from the bank, choosing to wait a short distance away from the entrance.
When the boy finally left the bank, Severus was certain it was him. He had similar hair, dark-coloured eyes behind glasses. The boy’s face was sunken in, possibly due to inadequate nutrition. He was quite small, so the cloak prevented anyone from seeing his body structure.
Not wishing to miss this opportunity, now that he was sure it was him, Severus walked into his line of sight. “Are you on your way to get new potions?”
A small smile appeared on the child’s face. “No. I haven’t had breakfast yet, so I’m going to get something to eat first. I will get some more potions later.”
With that the boy continued walking with Severus following along. It was already half past 11. Normally, Severus would consider having lunch by now, if he was not preoccupied by brewing or dunderheads. Before he was aware of it, they had arrived at the small restaurant situated at the junction of Knockturn and Diagon Alley.
Severus had never had the opportunity to visit this establishment, preferring to dine in the comfort of his own home. The child seemed to have been here before, if the way he walked straight for a free table was any indication.
He took a seat next to him, in a way that allowed him to maintain a view of the door.
A waiter came with the cards and the child ordered a small glass grape juice, right away. Severus didn’t want to be impolite, but also didn’t want to get drunk, decided on ordering the same. He had never had grape juice. He was not aware such a beverage existed in the wizarding world.
As soon as the waitress was gone, Severus became aware of a change in the atmosphere. It seemed as though protective spells were being cast around the table. Looking down to the boy, he saw a piece of paper on the tabletop with a rune sequence. The paint appeared to be somewhat aged, yet still retained a reddish hue. A few fresh blood-red lines were observed connecting the sequence with the table, before they all seemed to disappear. The boy was cleaning his hands on a piece of cloth.
“Blood magic is illegal.”
“All healing magic includes blood in some way. And it’s not like you can prove I used my blood at all. Maybe it was just red ink.”
Apparently, the boy didn’t want to continue conversating, as he practically disappeared behind the menu. It is understandable that this information would be met with resistance, as it is unlikely that anyone would want to hear the magic they have chosen is considered illicit. Severus decided to take a look at what they had to offer, too.
A moment later, a gentle beeping sound indicated that the waiter crossed the wards with the drinks.
“I’ll take the vegetable in butter with chips. The adult portion. Have you decided yet?” The child enquired and he should really find out his name. Referring to him as ‘boy’ or ‘child’ was becoming somewhat irksome, and although 'John' was his chosen alias, it still felt somewhat inappropriate.
“I’m still undecided. Do you have any suggestions?”
“The fish and chips are the best in London, apparently. I haven’t tried fish and chips anywhere else so I can’t compare. They also have a good pumpkin and tomato soupe. The vegetables I ordered are different depending on the season.”
“I guess I’ll try the fish and chips then.” Severus told the waiter, who left soon after.
“So, you know why I’m in the Alley. What are you doing here today?” It seemed that his previous comment had not deterred the child.
“I was simply taking a walk.” He realised that he needed to say more than that, as he was keen to find out more about the child as well. He continued, "I bought a book on brewing healing tea in India a while ago."
“My sister loves Indian curry. It’s apparently easy to prepare like stew, but with different spices and coconut milk.”
One more information about the child. For someone who was severally abused he was quite trustworthy. Though this honesty could change if he wasn’t careful. Better one information for one information going forward. “I’m an only child. Though I had a good friend during my childhood who almost felt like a sister to me.”
“That’s nice. I never had a friend. My cousin took care of that.” Took care of that…?
“Are your sister and you living with your cousin’s family?”
“Yes and no. I’m living there, but my sister is in the foster care system. There was a war you know.”
“Yes, I do recall the war. I was in my twenties when it finally came to an end. It resulted in a great deal of confusion and unrest in the aftermath.”
“I was a baby. But that wasn’t what I meant. From what my sister and I found out about our past, which isn’t much, we were split during the war, because somehow our family ended up on different sides. Anyway, my sister was with her godfather and I was with our parents. Both, our godparents as well as our parents died or disappeared, we aren’t completely sure, as we’re still missing information.”
Another signal was given, and the waiter arrived with their meal. The boy produced a small vial from his pocket, which contained a potion designed to aid digestion. He took it before beginning to eat.
“Anyway, he was gone and the wards on the house they had stayed at fell, which lead to the muggles finding her and putting her in the foster system. Because of the war neither of our parents had informed my relatives of her existence, so they never looked for her.”
“How do you know if no one knew you had a sister?”
“Our minds are connected. We think it means that we’re magical twins, but we’re not sure as neither of us has met a magical twin before.”
Twins. Magical twins. Those were rare. It is believed that the only family known to have possessed them was the Prewit family, who were said to have had red hair. Even more unusual were magical twins with different genders. Severus couldn’t think of ever having heard about something like this, as magical twins shared a soul and therefore were always identical. At least, that was his understanding.
“I’ve encountered a pair of magical twins during the war. Gideon and Fabian Prewit, this family is known for getting twins. Unfortunately, they didn’t survive the war but their sister did. From what I’ve observed, it appeared that they were capable of telepathic communication, even when not facing each other. Apparently, we’ll get a pair next semester as well. The Weasley twins are related to them through their mother, the sister of the Prewit twins.”
“Considering, how most wixen are related, we might be related as well.”
“Possible.”
They continued eating in silence, both lost in thought. Upon reflection, Severus wondered if the boy before him was truly lost in thought or if he was actually just conversing with his sister. He was unsure how close magical twins needed to be to communicate. It was possible that if no one knew they were related, they might never have had a chance to meet personally.
The food was very good. He would certainly consider returning if he were in the mood for fish and chips. Perhaps he might even have the opportiunity to meet the child again, if he was a regular here. The child, who had apparently finished eating, was now packing up the food to take home in a box. This seemed to explain why he had ordered an adult portion.
“Are you going to finish that?” He asked in a way that told Severus, that he was asking to wrap up his leftover as well. Severus pushed his plate closer to the child and let him have the third he hadn’t eaten yet. He was way to small either way. The grateful smile he received in return was completely undeserving. No child should be this happy over food. Maybe sweets, but not fish and fried potatoes.
The waiter came by their table then and Severus insisted on paying. Even though the child mentioned the money he had again.
Before they stood and left, the child pulled a piece of paper from the top of the table. The paper with the rune sequence. It seems as if the paper had been on the table the hole time, Severus just hadn’t seen it.
Leaving together Severus decided to take a risk. He hadn’t scared the child off yet and the child had both times started a conversation. Last time, when he asked for help with his potions and this time, when he started the conversation about his sister. So maybe he wouldn’t scare him away. “If you have time, we can apparate to my house and I’ll give you some of the potions I have on stock. I’m responsible for prepping the potions in the infirmary of Hogwarts, so I should have several of the potions you need, and I can brew some others, depending on how long we have.”
The child put on a thoughtful expression while studying him. “Do you promise to let me leave, whenever I want to?”
“I promise.” Severus knew it wasn’t a magical vow or oath, he personally took them as serious though. And he would make a vow as well if the child asked, he just needed to be careful about the wording. He had already made to many vows and oaths in his live and wasn’t about to commit himself to something long-term again.
“Alright. I have a few days as I was able to make my babysitter believe, I had travelled alongside my relatives. And they went on a holiday.”
That said, Severus guided the boy to the next apparition stop and they left for Spinner’s End.