Severin Snape watched, impatiently and excitedly as his father's hand spellotaped the notice of 'Class Cancelled' on the door to the potions room. He had been told that, for this very special birthday, his father was going to take the day off and bring him somewhere. Bring him somewhere! Severin had never even left these rooms, except by watching through his father's eyes. Though he'd never been beyond the heavily warded door, he already knew his way around the school as if he had explored it personally. Though he'd never met anyone but his father, he could recognize all the teachers, most of the students (especially the ones who got in trouble a lot during potions), and his brother.
He had mixed feelings about his brother. There was curiousity in spades. If he could see through any else's eyes but his father's he'd want to watch the other boy almost constantly. But his father was just that. His father. Not Charlie Hagrid's. Charlie didn't even have the right last name. But Severin would probably be jealous if he did, so it was just as well. Charlie looked kind of like his father. His nose was all wrong and his color was too dark, but he was the right shape. Severin himself was mostly the right shape. His head was too round, but otherwise, he was all right. All skinny and long legged and long armed and pale everywhere, just like Father. He was already up to his parent's shoulder, too.
His father soon returned to the room, and led him down a corridor that Severin knew led to the tunnel which led to the woods. As his father closed the trapdoor leading into the tunnel behind him, he said, "I don't want you using this tunnel when you start going to school here, understand? The forest is dangerous and forbidden."
Severin nodded his head. "Okay. I won't unless you're with me," he promised, the thought of disobeying never occurred to him. If his father said it was dangerous, it was dangerous. Severin knew about dangerous. He still had nightmares about the days he had nursed his father back to health all by himself. Sometimes he even woke up in the night, screaming from a phantom pain that came from everywhere. His father would wake him up those nights, and tell him he was remembering something from before he was born. He was remembering dark magic used against them both.
Sometimes Father had nightmares about the same thing. And Severin would wake him up, and tell him he was remembering bad things from before the Potter boy (that's all Father ever called him, the Potter boy) killed the bad guy. Then Father would smile and everything would be better.
They came out inside the forest, but they didn't stay long. Father took Severin's hand, and they were suddenly not there anymore. Severin felt the flush of magic as his father channeled the spell through them both, and then they were standing in the middle of a crowded street. "Diagon Alley," his father announced as if he had invented it himself.
Severin took in the buildings and people with wide eyes, breathing in the air with so many new smells. "Whoa," he breathed in awe. "Why don't you come here more often, Dad?"
His father chuckled. "I can get everything I need in Hogsmeade. Besides, if I'd come before, this wouldn't be as spectacular. I fear I've already ruined the Great Hall for you. Come, we need to get spending money from Gringotts."
"Okay," Severin agreed cheerfully, tagging along behind his father, pointing out occassional objects or pictures and asking what it was. When he asked about a balloon, his father looked down at him with a wry look. "Severin, if you don't know what a balloon looks like, your father is desperately remiss in your education."
"I'd seen them before," Severin protested, "At Charlie's birthday parties, but you never told me what they were called."
"Hopeless, child, you are hopeless," his father lamented aloud, while his mental voice apologized his failure. Severin understood he was apologizing for more than just not telling him what a balloon was, but what more Severin wasn't sure. Gringotts opened before them, and all thoughts of balloons left him as he stared at the creatures lining the desks.
"Mommy?" Severin asked, slipping into his youngest name for his father in his fright. The amusement from his father's mental link did more to dispell his fear than anything else could have.
"They're Goblins, Severin. They run the bank. As long as you don't try to rob them, they won't hurt you." They approached one of the goblins, and his father handed over a key to the long fingered creature. "Snape vault, number 21."
"Very well," the goblin ground out in a gravelly voice. Then it hopped down from its seat and bid them follow. The creature was tiny, and Severin felt foolish for being afraid of it.
Do not ever underestimate a goblin, Severin, his father's mental voice warned, they are small, but a more vicious creature does not walk on this Earth. Then the voice's tone lightened as he added, Except maybe me.
Severin burst into laughter. The goblin gave him a Look, but Severin expected the unhappy creature just didn't like laughter, rather than because he was put off by its apparent lack of cause. They climbed into what looked like a coal mine cart (he'd seen pictures in some books), and Father warned that he should hold on in a voice that brooked no argument. So Severin held on, and was very glad he had when the cart shot forward. He screamed in exhileration and terror mixed equally.
When the cart came to a stop, he breathlessly gasped, "Can we do that again?"
His father muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Insane child." His question was forgotten as the goblin opened the vault door, and Severin stared inside. He'd seen drawn pictures of piles of coins. He'd even seen a handful of coins once. But spending most of his time in the dungeons, and with his father's shopping experiences usually ending with a remark along the lines of 'put it on my tab' or 'put it on the school's tab', Severin really had no concept of money. But he knew what he saw before him was a lot. A lot a lot.
His father stepped inside and took two handfuls of the gold coins, and one handful of the silver ones. As he stepped away, he gestured toward the vaultful of coins. "Go ahead. Take as much as you'd like for your allowance until the next time we come here."
Uncertainly, he took a handful of the gold ones. He looked at his father to see if he thought this was too much or too little, but the man just nodded and told the goblin that they were done. The return trip was almost as terrifying as the trip down, and his father's instructions to hold tight to his money because the bank didn't refund dropped withdrawls prompted his wondering if there was an ulterior motive for the fast, bumpy ride.
Despite that thought, his immediate reaction to the end of the trip back to the bank lobby was, "Again?"
"Next year," his father promised, "Now get out." Once back in Diagon Alley, Father led the way into an unassuming store that Severin probably wouldn't have noticed, but when he saw shelves upon shelves of long narrow boxes, his eyes lit up with excitement. "A wand! I get my own wand!"
The shout brought an old man out from between two shelves of wand boxes. A smile lit the ancient face as it took in his visitors. "Ah! Professor Snape, and young Mr. Hagrid."
Severin straightened in offense, while his father succeeded at not showing the surprise Severin felt throught their link. The elder Snape silently instructed, Play along with it.
Why? he respected his father in all things, but the wand maker called him by his brother's name. That was not to be tolerated.
I hadn't thought we could fool Ollivander, so I wasn't going to try, but he really doesn't know who you are. The longer we keep your existance secret, the longer I won't have to explain where you came from. I guarentee that if we reveal who you are to Ollivander now, by tonight all of Hogwarts will know about you.
Severin thought about it, and decided that drawing the Hogwarts gossip mill into focus on himself and his father right now wasn't what he wanted for his birthday. The plan had been to put off informing the teachers until summer, and shocking the students come September first. Fine, he agreed, somewhat sullenly.
"Yes," agreed his father to the wand maker. Only moments had passed since the old man had made his greeting. "Charlie will be starting at Hogwarts in September, and he has need of a wand."
"Of course, though most new students do wait until the acceptance letters arrive." A raised note at the end spoke of curiousity, but his father only frowned impatiently. Severin stepped toward one of the shelves and peered at the wandboxes stored there. A spark of excitement burned through his annoyance at needing to borrow his brother's identity. He was going to get a wand!
"Well, I suppose you would know that young Hagrid will be accepted already. Let us see," and the wand maker began running his fingers along the shelves of narrow boxes. "Your parent was a holly with unicorn hair."
He means Hagrid, his father noted silently, I have an ebony with a pheonix feather.
Severin accepted the wand from Ollivander, but it was snatched away again almost immediately. "No, no, no, that will never do. Let us try, hmm, perhaps? Yes," his fingers teased out another box, "here, ebony, like your other father," a short, quick glance was sent toward Severin's 'escort', "with the unicorn hair."
His father only arched an eyebrow at him, but his thoughts commented, It is remarks like those that made me think we couldn't fool him. Nobody is supposed to know Charlie is mine, least of all Charlie. There was a short pause before he added, Fortunately, he doesn't look nearly as much like me as you do.
Severin surpressed his grin, and remained focused on the wand maker. "My other father?" Severin asked, sounding confused as he accepted the ebony wand. He almost forgot the subterfuge as he felt the warmth fill him, radiating from the wood in his grip. Instinctively, he gave it a sharp swish, and bright sparkles flew from its end. He looked hopefully at his father. "This one's mine?"
His father couldn't entirely hold back his proud smile, but he did turn it into a small smirk. "It appears so."
"The wand chooses the wizard!" Ollivander confirmed, sounding pleased that he had made a match on only the second try. As he took the wand back and boxed it up for sale, he commented solemnly, "It is a most rare combination that has chosen you, young Hagrid. The darkest of woods with the purest of cores."
There was an awkward silence as his father paid the wand maker. Severus accepted the narrow box and handed it to his son. "I am certain your father will be pleased with your wand," he assured him.
Severin smiled, feeling immensely relieved, though he couldn't say why Ollivander's words had so bothered him. "Thanks."
[Reviews - 24] [Kudos - 152]
Download story PDF format or ePUB format or MOBI format
Table of Contents
Download story PDF format or ePUB format or MOBI format
Table of Contents