IV

Thank you, WriterMerrin!

IV

The Forbidden Forest is filled with dangerous creatures. Its inhabitants know to keep the secrets of the Forest and of the many folks that are to be found within it. This is common knowledge and one of the main reasons for which Severus Snape chose it as his home in his new life. The other reason was the close proximity to Hogwarts. His sire, Vladimir, helped him shape an existing cavern into a home. Many layers of permanent spells protected his new residence from water and moisture, earth and rock destabilization.

He had not seen Vladimir in over fifteen years. The ancient vampire had stayed with him during his transition period. Vladimir had taught him to feed from animals and from humans without harming them. He had shown Severus how to use his new speed and agility and how to compensate for the photosensitivity and lack of reflection. Severus had tried hard to keep his distance from him, but Vladimir saw too much and proved to be immune to sarcasm. He resembled Albus too much, or rather the ideal that Severus had thought Albus to be. It was strange, but Severus had not resented Vladimir’s efforts. He had paid attention to all the lessons and all the caveats offered by the older vampire. Feelings had been numbed for him a number of years ago, but Severus found his existence useful since he was able to research everything he had not had the time to before. Well, almost everything, since he had problems with certain ingredients, such as those required for the Wolfsbane potion.

Others might have found the solitude unsettling and even daunting. Severus, however, had lived in this way his entire adult life, and thus did not think anything of it. His library in his new home was extensive and grew steadily over the years. He had once feared that he would be unable to buy books and ingredients, but with some effort he had managed to find an owl in the Forbidden Forest that was willing to do his bidding. Money would have also been a problem, but Vladimir had insisted on giving him an enormous amount of currency. He had tried to object, but the ancient one considered him family.

Severus had also subscribed to The Quibbler and the Daily Prophet under an assumed name and thus kept in touch with the news of the Wizarding world. In short, everything was well and tidy in his ordered new life. That is until he changed his habits to accommodate tutoring a young girl in his weekly routine. The girl turned out to have a good head on her shoulders, and soon she had managed to become a good student. Their tutoring sessions had then been reduced to twice weekly. Such few hours should not have had any impact on his life. Coming and going to Hogwarts so often, though, had consequences. He saw more and listened to more. The Bloody Baron was a fountain of information, but also a menace. The ghost seemed to regard him as the Head of Slytherin House, insisting that he had neglected his duties. Severus scoffed at the words of the Ghost, but decided to look from time to time into the goings of his House.

Time passes quickly when one is ageless. Well before he knew it, the seasons had changed twice, and his student Lily was in her third year at Hogwarts. Nothing much had changed in these two years. Kingsley Shacklebolt was still Minister of Magic, Draco Malfoy was nominated as businessman of the year in both Muggle and Wizarding worlds, Potter was still Head of the Auror Department and trusted advisor of Kingsley, and Minerva was looking for a replacement in order to retire.

…

Scorpius Malfoy took in his surroundings and chose a table with a view over the entire place. The girl tucked under his arm complained.

“Why did we have to come to Rosmerta’s? This place is for children! We could go to ‘Tease,’ the new hip place in Hogsmeade. That’s where everyone who is anyone is going to be,” she whined.

“My dear, you may go wherever you want. I will be staying here,” he replied so as if she had no say.

“But I am your girlfriend! Couples go together. If I show up alone, James Potter and his new girlfriend, Alice, will make fun of me. And they are seventh years, so the others will follow them,” she tried to explain to Scorpius.

Scorpius looked at her and replied, “Renata, the solution to your problem would be for you to stop being my girlfriend. I already told you that I’m staying. Suit yourself!”

Renata thought about it, but Scorpius was the most good-looking student at Hogwarts, not to mention the richest one.

“Don’t be silly! I’m your girlfriend,” she said as she kissed him and sat next to him at the corner table.

Scorpius would not have minded going to the new place ‘Tease,’ but two years ago he had promised his mother to look after plain little Lily Potter. He kept his promises. Honour had been drilled into him by his mother from a very young age. He might have decided that his promise would not need to extend to the next years, but it was obvious that her brothers did a very poor job of looking after their sister. It was true that she had turned out to be a good student, but she also was a menace. Wherever there was trouble, she would be smack in the middle of it. In these past two years, he had retrieved her from more scrapes than he cared to count. Just before the end of her first year, he had had to get her out of the tentacles of the Giant Squid. She and her friends had decided to swim in the Lake. Naturally, she was the only one who dared to actually jump in the lake. In the beginning of her second year, she decided to find the Room of Requirement and ended instead in front of the Mirror of Erised. Making her snap out of it had been tough. Just before Christmas in the same year, she ventured out to the Forbidden Forest. She still had not told him what she was looking for that time. By spring he had located her in Hog’s Head talking to a crook who claimed to know all dangerous creatures of the world. This year, he had had to save her from Peeves when she tried to trap the poltergeist in a contraption she had seen in a Muggle retro movie.

One would think that the girl would be grateful for being rescued. However, she resented his efforts, and more than once he had been a victim to her vitriolic reaction. She claimed to not need his help, to be an independent witch. That was naturally after the terror had passed, after she had stopped clinging on him.

Renata’s kisses brought him back to the present. He looked around and saw that plain Lily and her friends had entered the shop. She saw him and smiled, shouting a greeting at the same time. He raised his glass to her.

“I don’t understand how you can be friendly with that girl. It is true that she is James’ sister, but it is not as if she is as trendy as her brother. I should also add that half the time you fight with her and you shout at each other,” she pouted.

Scorpius, however, focused on Lily instead of Renata. He had not missed the light flick of her wand as she passed the bar. The silly girl was probably trying to get herself arrested. Spiking the non-alcoholic drinks in an establishment where minors frequented was a punishable offense. He stood up, approached the bar and casually undid her spell. She saw him and looked at him with murder in her eyes. He simply inclined his head and returned to an irate Renata.

…

George Weasley raised his glass to the photo before him.

“I am tired, Fred. Our shop is still successful, our family is well, and I am lonely. I have many nephews and nieces and one goddaughter, but my own home is empty. I am forty something, but everyone thinks that my life is still pranks and laughs. There is only one person who understands me, and he can never be mine. How I wish you were still alive. We would have dated those twin sisters, and we would have married some fine girls, and each one of us would have his own family. Your death changed all that. There is a void in my soul that cannot be filled.”

…