Chapter 4
‘Neither you nor I did this willingly. And nevertheless, we're here now! So let's make the best of it. We'll lead separate lives as far as possible. I have no interest in anything else! If you need anything, you know where to find me! Otherwise, I expect you to respect me and not disturb me any further! Understood?’ He hadn't looked her in the eyes once while presenting his idea of her future life. Octavia stood in the centre of the living room with her head held high; yesterday it had seemed warm and welcoming, now it was almost as cold as her husband's voice. ‘Understood?’ This time he looked her in the eyes, frustration in his gaze. Octavia nodded. ‘Answer me when I ask you a question!’ His voice was irritated and it took every fibre of Octavia's being not to flinch. ‘Yes, sir!’ ‘Good, then we're agreed.’ With that, he left the room and disappeared into his lab. The very lab that she was not allowed to enter without permission. And she stayed behind, alone. Despite the burning fire, she was cold.
The Lestranges had also shown little affection towards their daughters. It was more often the opposite, but at least at home she was never alone. At Lestrange Manor, she had only had to go one room down to snuggle up in her older sisters' bed. Marjorie had wiped the tears from her cheeks and hugged her almost weekly after a punishment from her father, a particularly hard training session from her mother or a new outing with Bellatrix and Rudolphus. But she was no longer at Lestrange Manor, Marjorie was far away and she was alone.
She took a deep breath. One thing at a time. First she would unpack. In just a few steps, she was in the guest room of the appartment. The young woman closed the door behind her, leant against the solid wood and gave herself two minutes to wallow in self-pity. Then she resolutely wiped the tears from her cheek and began to unpack her few belongings. But this task did not occupy her for long. Then she stood in the centre of the room again, desperately trying to get rid of the feeling of loneliness. ‘You are a Lestrange! Don't disgrace this family!’ she heard her mother's voice in the back of her head. Salome Lestrange seemed to be following her all the way to Hogwarts as well. One thing at a time. Now she would deal with her other problem. One disadvantage that the name Lestrange brought with it was an addiction to Dreamless Sleep. Without exception, everyone in her family took a dose every night before going to bed. Lestrange Manor had its own shelf for the supply, but she was no longer at Lestrange Manor and she was missing not only her sisters but also access to Dreamless Sleep. She had taken seven vials with her, of which six were left. Six nights, if she hadn't found a solution by then, she had a problem. She hadn't really expected access to potions to be a problem, after all, she had married one of the most famous potions masters in all of wizardry England, but this very potions master locked his laboratory and forbade her to enter.
The bathroom, many people kept a small pharmacy in the bathroom. For a moment she listened at the door, only after she heard no noises from the appartment did she open the door and then locked herself in the bathroom. She opened the first cupboard randomly. Towels, large and small in a warm sandy colour, all neatly folded and stacked. The next cupboard contained a toothbrush mug with toothbrush and toothpaste, a strange thing with blades, presumably something muggles used to shave with, an unusual object in a wizard's bathroom. A packet of dental floss, a large bottle of a very strong mouthwash that brought tears to Octavia's eyes when she smelled it. She also found a comb, hair gel, face cream, aftershave, deodorant and finally a small box with various vials. Only one of them was dreamless sleep, but three others were a simple calming draught, maybe that would be enough. That was a decent start, maybe she had managed to persuade Marjorie to send her Dreamless Sleep by owl by then.
A hard knock on the door startled the young woman: ‘Octavia? Is everything all right?’ Snape's voice sounded more irritated than worried. ‘Yes, I'm fine.’ She quickly closed the cupboard door, let the water run for a moment and then unlocked the door. Severus Snape stood directly in front of her, the only time they had been as close as they were at that moment was in the Ministry when he had kissed her. Snape quickly took a step to the side, scrutinising her from top to bottom. Without another word, Octavia walked past him and into the guest room. The young woman only exhaled when she had closed the door behind her. That was weird.