Chapter 34

Both Sarah and Severus felt broken after their last encounter. Sarah was not going to turn from him and wanted to support him, yet confronting him had seemed to make things even worse. Severus, meanwhile, had as usual turned his pain into anger and took his frustration out on a group of poor first-year Hufflepuffs the next day, bewitching his cloak into the form of a Dementor, making it whizz around the classroom with rattling breath and telling tales of such unspeakable darkness that it struck the fear of Merlin into them from their very first lesson. This did little to dampen the well-worn whispers around the castle that Snape had not renounced the Dark Arts at all and was biding his time in order to be Voldemort's successor. Snape had heard all the rumours, even from students in his own house, and found them deeply amusing, not to mention a useful tool to retain his notoriously rigid control over his classroom.

Sarah however was at a loss how to resolve the situation and how to approach him next. Although he had been completely foul to her, he hadn't told her outright that he no longer had feelings for her. True, he'd never actually said the three little words she'd been dying to hear from him whilst they were together, but neither had he said outright that he didn't care when she confronted him. Plus, the whole scenario regarding her equipment and clothing was puzzling. Minerva had, apparently, no part in payment whatsoever, or records that Hogwarts had paid for the equipment. This lead to the logical conclusion that Severus himself had paid for everything, despite his protestations to the contrary. It was this that gave Sarah some comfort and some indication that he still had some feelings for her. She held on to this small nugget of hope, even through the nights of broken sleep and the constant stone of despair she seemed to be dragging around with her.

Severus had sent an owl to her mid-week stating that he'd arranged a time to visit Gringotts during Sarah's lunch hour on Friday. They would be meeting with a Goblin called Spineshank. Severus would come and meet Sarah outside the library at one o'clock and they would find a side-street and Apparate from there. Although it was quite risky in broad daylight, this was the only appointment Severus could pencil in that week, and he wanted to make sure all of her wizarding administrations were completed as quickly as possible so he could get on with business of ignoring her and being snarky and making sure she hated him. Sarah would bring her cloak, wand and Muggle banking details with her to work and dress in her long black skirt, a modest top and boots so as to not look out of place in either the Muggle or wizarding world. Once again, Severus had thought of all the details and, much too soon for Sarah's liking, Friday promptly arrived.

All morning at work she was watching the clock, the minutes racing past, and her stomach knotted and writhed as if a conger eel had taken up residency inside it. She had no idea of what she would say when she finally saw Severus again, and she knew he would be hostile and unwelcoming. This made the vines of anxiety twist in her gut even more violently.

At quarter-to one, Sarah collected her bag containing her wand and cloak and waited outside of the library, looking around restlessly with one foot tapping nervously. Surely he's not going to turn up in his wizard robes in the middle of the day like this? she thought, eyes scanning the crowd for any sign of him. She glanced up at the clock on the front of the building. Five-to. She began pacing, dread building in her stomach like thunderclouds.

"Looking for someone?" a familiar voice muttered in her ear. Sarah squeaked, startled.

"Shhh! It's me, you silly girl. I'm under the Disillusionment Charm so you can't see me!" he hissed. "Turn left and start walking, and take the second turning on the left down the alleyway. I'll follow. We'll Apparate behind the bins there."

The sound of his voice in her ear sent shivers down her spine, and it took a moment for her to compose herself before she did as instructed and made her way behind the bins. The alley itself was dirty and rubbish-strewn, the stench of garbage permeating the stale air. Well, he certainly picked a romantic spot for it, Sarah thought dryly whilst she put on her cloak and waited for him to catch up. A few moments later, she saw the black figure of Severus materialise in front of her slowly as if from out of thin air, his form at first ghostly before becoming totally solid. He peered down his nose at her.

"What are you waiting for? Let's get going," he growled.

Sarah stepped forward gingerly. In order to Apparate, she would need to embrace him, but he was like a tightly coiled spring and she was nervous to touch him after their last encounter. Snape huffed impatiently and pulled her towards him, physically wrapping her arms around him.

"Make sure you hold on tight. The last thing I need is you Splinching yourself," he snarled as Sarah's heart thudded from the sheer proximity. She rested her head on his chest and squeezed tighter, the familiar scent of his clothes and cologne sending a sharp pang of loss through her.

I miss you.

The words appeared as clearly in Severus' mind as if she'd spoken them aloud, although he'd not used Legilemency. Startled, Severus quickly drew up his psychological barriers. I miss you, too, he thought, trying to ignore her warmth and the swell of longing that rose within him as she nestled against him. Banishing such thoughts, he folded his arms across her and at once turned on the spot.

The squeezing, breathless feeling that accompanied Apparition washed over Sarah as she screwed her eyes tightly shut, grabbing on to Severus' robes until they landed squarely in Diagon Alley, just outside of Gringotts.

He released her immediately, turning from her and taking long strides up the white marble stairs, cloak billowing, and Sarah had to trot a little to keep up. She followed him through a set of bronze doors, then through a set of silver, until they were standing inside the lobby. Two wizard guards were stood either side of a long marble counter, wands in hand.

Behind the counter was a short creature with greenish skin. It had sharp, pointed ears and nose and long curling fingers. Its beady eyes glittered with recognition as they fell upon Snape.

"Good afternoon, Professor," said the Goblin politely, his eyes flicking from Snape to Sarah. "On time, as usual."

"Good afternoon, Spineshank," replied the professor coolly. "This is Sarah Shaw, who, as I mentioned in my letter, needs to set up an account today."

The Goblin turned his full attention on Sarah and gave her a sickly smile.

"Good afternoon to you, Miss Shaw," he crooned sycophantically. He was giving her the creeps. She nodded and responded in kind, trying not to let the revulsion show on her face.

"Professor Snape tells me you have a Muggle bank account, is that correct?" asked the Goblin. Sarah nodded as the Goblin reached under the counter and withdrew a very old and tatty looking piece of parchment, a golden quill that seemed resonate with light and something which looked to be a magnifying glass without the lens. He laid each of these objects on the table.

"This shouldn't take too long, Miss Shaw," the Goblin told her, smoothing the tatty parchment down. "I presume you have some Muggle money with you today? We do have a Muggle-wizard exchange facility here at the bank, but the minimum deposit for opening an account is £100, which at the current rate of exchange works out to be twenty Galleons. For your information, there are twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, and seventeen Sickles to a Galleon."

Sarah looked at the Goblin blankly. Maths wasn't a strong subject of hers, and this seemed to be a very random and illogical way of working out currency. Both Snape and the Goblin noticed her look of incomprehension.

"Many Muggle-borns find wizarding currency a little taxing to understand at first. You will be issued with a complimentary pouch and conversion table before you leave to help you. You'll soon be throwing Sickles around in no time." The Goblin gave her another sickly smile, to which Sarah attempted a smile of her own.

"Firstly, I'll need to verify your wand as a security measure. We can only authorize an account to a person with a wand that belongs to them."

Sarah rummaged in her bag and retrieved her wand, passing it to the Goblin. Spineshank took the object that looked like a magnifying glass and ran the wand through it. The wand glowed a faint blue colour, and the Goblin nodded, apparently satisfied.

"Thank you, everything is in order there," he said, handing the wand back to her. "Now we need your signature." He pushed the tatty parchment towards her and handed her the glowing golden quill.

"Both the quill and the parchment are enchanted," said the Goblin. "It will recognise your signature and your signature alone. You will need to sign it every time you come in to withdraw or deposit some money. This is a security measure against the use of Polyjuice Potion. In theory, someone could steal your wand and take a potion to look just like you, and then come in here and access your funds. However, the enchanted quill and parchment memorises not only your signature, but the way you hold the quill and the pressure on the canvas. It's impossible to fool, or forge someone else's signature."

Sarah examined the quill, impressed, before signing the parchment. To her dismay, as soon as she'd written her signature, it began to fade into nothing, leaving the canvas blank. Then after a few moments, a gothic script emerged on the page:

Congratulations on your new Gringotts account, Miss Sarah Shaw. Your vault number is 893.

As soon as Sarah read this, the parchment faded once again to blank.

"Well, that's the account open. Now all that remains is to issue your first deposit," said the Goblin, returning the quill, parchment and wand verifying device back under the counter. "If I could take your Muggle money now, please?"

Sarah once again fished around in her bag and found her purse, pulling out five crisp £20 notes and handing them over. The Goblin placed the notes on the counter and clapped his hands over them. The notes disappeared from sight. Spineshank noticed her look of surprise.

"Twenty Galleons have now been deposited in your safe. To make life easier for Muggle-borns, we do have an automatic transfer facility from Muggle account to wizarding account by way of a spell called Dai Rectebit. You simply choose the amount you wish to enter your wizarding account from your Muggle account and how often, we cast the spell over your Muggle bank details, and you need never worry about chopping and changing currencies. The withdrawal will show up on the Muggle bank statement as GWB Ltd."

Sarah thought this was absolutely ingenious, and within minutes Spineshank had cast Dai Rectebit over her Muggle cash card.

"Would you like to take any money out before you leave today?" asked the Goblin, passing her cash card back to her.

"Yes, please, I'd like to withdraw six Galleons."

"Six Galleons," Spineshank repeated, clapping his hands over the counter once more. Six fat, shiny gold Galleons appeared, and he handed them to Sarah with another wan smile.

"Well, if that's all for today, all that remains is to give you our complimentary pouch and conversion card."

Spineshank reached once more under the counter and pulled out a black velvet pouch, very much like the one she saw Severus with at Jasmine's Restaurant. It had a little gold "G" embroidered in the corner. On top of the pouch was a card, the exact same shape as a Muggle credit card, with exchange rate information flashing across it.

Sarah thanked the Goblin gratefully as she and Severus bade their farewells, Sarah stashing her Galleon-filled pouch in her bag as they left. The Galleons were large and heavy. Sarah was puzzled as to why wizards hadn't invented debit cards yet. Once again, she struggled to keep up as Severus took long strides down Diagon Alley, finding a quiet spot to Apparate from.

Severus found his spot and waited for Sarah to join him. She scurried over, her heels clicking on the cobblestones. She was about to open her mouth to say something, but Severus unceremoniously pulled her into an embrace and once again the unpleasant sensation of Apparition took hold before they appeared back behind the smelly bins in the foul Muggle alleyway.

Severus was first to drop the embrace. Noticing her reluctance to pull away, he eyed her suspiciously.

"Thank you for taking me today," she said softly.

"Merely obeying orders," he muttered, reaching into his cloak for his wand. He turned as if to leave, but Sarah placed a hand on his arm.

"Severus... you didn't have to pay for my equipment, you know." Her green eyes were filled with tender gratitude. Damn her finding out, he thought with a flash of annoyance.

"I consider my life-debt to you to be completely repaid now," he replied quietly.

"You've been very kind to me." She held his gaze. Merlin, it took all his strength not to reach down and kiss her right then.

"Kindness has nothing to do with it," he answered coolly before casting the Disillusionment Charm over himself and disappearing from view.

"Thank you," she said to thin air. From the lack of response, Sarah assumed he had gone, and he saw a flicker of disappointment cross her face as he watched her rearrange her bag before making her way back up to the library.

Kindness has nothing to do with it at all, he thought, his heart heavy with emotion.

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Author's note: Dai Rectebit = pun on Direct Debit. I thought it was funny!

GWB Ltd = Gringotts Wizarding Bank Ltd