Minerva winning

Disclaimer: All recognisable Harry Potter characters, settings, situations etc. are the property of J.K. Rowling. No money is being made from this work, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Many thanks and endless gratitude to Diabólica, Hechicera and moiramountain who have, all in their own way, helped me. I owe them.

Chapter four: Minerva winning

They Apparated to Diagon Alley, since Severus had refused to Floo. He detested Flooing. It made him nauseated, and on one horrible occasion as a child, he had vomited uncontrollably afterwards. Motion sickness, he seemed to remember his worthless Muggle father calling it. He'd had it all his life, and his father's claim that he would grow out of it had been wrong. Tobias Snape usually was.

Minerva came along with him, claiming that she had important errands too -- quite unconnected with him, of course. She surprised him, however, when she told him that she needed to shop for writing materials, and after informing him that she would meet him at Ollivander's, she disappeared among the shoppers at Diagon Alley.

In the end, buying black robes for different occasions didn't take long. The only change he made was that he refused to buy robes made of wool. It wouldn't be necessary anymore. He wouldn't spend a large part of his life in a cold, damp dungeon again. He wasn't in need of clothes that could withstand fire to a certain extent. He chose soft fabrics to wear next to his skin. Fabrics that wouldn't itch.

Walking through Diagon Alley was reassuring. Most of the shops were being reopened or were already open again, if he was to believe the signs in the windows. No doors or windows were boarded up as they had been just a couple of months ago.

He found Minerva waiting for him outside the wand shop, as agreed. The entrance to Ollivander's had been renovated, and the door was newly lacquered in the bright purple so familiar to Severus. The door had been purple as long as he could remember. Inside, the shop was just as eerie and strange as it had been the first time he had walked through the door as a child.

He had visited the shop several times after he started working at Hogwarts. He had, at times, taken care of Muggleborns in need of guidance through wizarding London, and he had also accompanied a couple of orphans. One of the reasons he had voluntarily taken on what the staff at Hogwarts usually called 'the baby-sitting missions' was the regular visits to Ollivander's wand shop. He had loved it on sight the first time he entered it, and he still felt ridiculously excited when he entered the establishment.

The shop had the combined smells of old books and varnish. A low-pitched humming gave the impression that the shop itself was a living, breathing entity. The queer atmosphere had always appealed to him, since it both relaxed and exhilarated him. That was not true for everyone who entered, he had come to realise; Severus had actually been forced to stop one or two students-to-be from leaving the shop without a wand. Those students had seemed quite willing to go back to the Muggle world, rather than subjecting themselves to buying a wand. He had never understood why.

Severus viewed with fascination the rows and rows of boxes containing the wands. Narrow boxes in purple and black, from floor to ceiling, and not a single wand exactly the same as any other.

Minerva looked around, craning her neck, trying to see into the dark depths of the narrow, dingy little shop. "I wonder if Miss Lovegood is around?" she said.

She was. Luna was gliding through the room towards Severus and Minerva, absently trailing what looked like Ollivander's tape-measure behind her.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," she said with a vacant smile.

"Miss Lovegood. This is Mr Snape, the newest addition to Hogwarts."

Luna turned her protuberant eyes to him. She looked at Minerva again. "We've met." Luna held out her hand to Severus, and he shook it briefly. "Good afternoon, Professor Snape. I really thought you were dead, to be honest." She watched him curiously. "And I thought you had a wand already?" She tilted her head and looked at him, unblinking.

Severus stiffened but held his features under rigid control. He threw a quick glance in Minerva's direction and met Minerva's eyes. She was also displaying an overly controlled look.

Seeing the byplay, Luna's eyebrows rose into her hair and she exclaimed, "Oh, I didn't realise it was a secret. Don't worry, Professors, I won't tell anyone." She smiled again and then asked, "Which arm is your wand arm? I don't seem to remember."

"Just choose one," Severus said.

Minerva sighed and looked decidedly annoyed. "Just tell the girl, and stop being difficult."

"I am not being difficult. It doesn't matter to me one way or the other," Severus said.

A shuffling sound interrupted Severus, and he looked up just as Mr Ollivander came into view. He had aged. He was thin bordering on emaciated, and his eyes showed distinct traces of pain and fatigue. The time he had spent in Malfoy's dungeons had almost killed the old man, Severus knew. Seeing the physical evidence of how bad it had actually been was depressing. He had done nothing to aid the old man. Nothing at all. For the common good. He pushed his hair behind one ear and took a deep breath. He would have made the exact same choice again.

"Professor McGonagall," Ollivander greeted her, "you are bringing me a young man in search of a wand, I see."

"Yes, I am. Can you see who he might be, I wonder?" Minerva said, immediately falling in with the old man's slightly theatrical way of expressing himself. Ollivander turned his eerie, expressionless eyes to Severus and watched him for a long time.

"Oh my, you are the very image of Severus Snape. He used to visit my shop regularly, you know. I enjoyed his company," Ollivander said.

He turned his head towards Minerva again, asking curiously, "I didn't know he had a son?"

"Not many people do. Severus was afraid for the boy's safety, so he has been in hiding. He is coming to Hogwarts this year to sit his NEWTs," Minerva said. Severus almost smiled. He would make sure he told her that her attempt to manipulate him back to Hogwarts was feeble, to say the least. He decided he would go along with the background she had outlined for him. It would suit well enough, and Spain -- that could be a good place to start a new life.

"Actually, I plan to sit the exam, rather than going to school," Severus said.

Mr Ollivander ignored him.

"His mother being?" Ollivander asked, looking curiously at him.

"We only know that she was Spanish. She died giving birth."

"Ah." Ollivander turned back to look at Severus again. "You have a lot to live up to. Your father had more cunning and courage than anyone could ever imagine." He paused and added, as an afterthought, "It has been a privilege to have met so many great wizards. I will soon be gone, you know."

"Gone? You are retiring then?" asked Severus.

"I am an old man. A very tired and worn old man, and the likes of me tend to die sooner rather than later," Ollivander said.

"But the shop? Who will take over?" Minerva asked with surprise, and after a slight pause she added with clear revulsion, "You can't mean we will have to buy wands from France?"

"As it is, yes. There is no one who will take over. I have no heirs, and I never did find anyone with the right touch to take on as an apprentice." Ollivander looked forlorn.

"It isn't too late yet," Minerva told the old man. "We have many promising students leaving Hogwarts this year. Luna is one of them, as you well know. Why not her?"

"Oh, not me," Luna said. "When I try to handle wands that haven't chosen me, very strange things happen. Besides, I can't smell them," Luna said.

"Smell them?" asked Minerva, staring at Luna.

"There is research that suggests that the sense of smell is most powerful sense among wizards and witches. My father wrote an article about it in the Quibbler. But I can't smell the wands," she said to Minerva, who didn't look any more enlightened by that somewhat nonsensical statement.

"I would have liked to have Luna as an apprentice," Ollivander said with a sad sigh. "But she really can't sense the wands. You need to have ..." Ollivander seemed to search for the right word. "You need to have a certain something, to be a wandmaker. Ah, well. It gives one food for thought. I should not have waited so long to find someone. I need the right person: intelligent, creative, intuitive, and artistic. Not many wizards and witches like that around. Even fewer with any flair for wandcraft. But I will consider it. Might I visit Hogwarts and meet a few students?" he asked Minerva.

"Of course you may. I will set up a few interviews with suitable candidates. I think I will start with Dean Thomas. He is artistic," Minerva said, while Luna and Mr Ollivander looked at the tape measure that had been working on Severus.

Ollivander nodded. "A very nice young man, but as I said, it is not all that easy to find someone talented with wands," he said as he went over to the far wall, letting his long fingers wander over the boxes. He chose three of them and returned to Severus and Minerva. "I assume you had a wand at one point?" he said while lining up the boxes in front of them.

"Yes, I did. I lost it." Severus didn't elaborate, even when Ollivander looked questioningly at him.

"Lost it?" Ollivander said, his eyes boring into Severus's.

"It disappeared on my journey to Hogwarts. I don't know how. However, I am not happy about it. It suited me," Severus said. Ollivander nodded.

"You used one of mine?" he asked.

"No, I inherited my mother's wand. Spanish origin. I do not know its maker." Severus's lie came without hesitation.

"Well, we can remedy that loss. I am sure we can find something for you. Try this one first: ebony, 12 ½ inches, inflexible, unicorn hair. Give it a wave," Ollivander said, handing the wand over to Severus, handle first.

Severus took it, weighed it in his hand and waved it. It reacted, sparks flying as he cut the air with it. Yet this wasn't his wand. He didn't feel any connection. He put the wand down and shook his head. "No, I think not."

Mr Ollivander gave him an oddly intense look and said, "It reacted well enough, but if you say so."

He opened the second box and gave him the wand inside. "Try this: oak, 10 inches, stiff, dragon heart string."

The same thing happened again. After nearly an hour of trying wands, every single one of them reacting to him reasonably well and then being rejected by him, Mr Ollivander's excitement was obvious.

"Curious," he said. He nodded thoughtfully to himself and then said, "I suggest you find your wand in your own way, Mr Snape." He took a step to the side, turned and held out his arm as an invitation to Severus to enter the inner sanctum of the shop.

"I do not understand," Severus said, still stepping forward, tempted by the offer.

"I want you to find your wand on your own. You can use any means you like to do so." Ollivander beckoned him forward.

Severus approached the shelves where the wands were neatly packed into boxes. He stepped closer to one of the shelves, and he heard the shop's ever-present humming more clearly. That humming sound he had always associated with Ollivander's was much stronger here, when he was standing among the wands. He turned and touched another shelf. The wands were singing for him, he realised. It was like listening to a choir. He couldn't contain himself. He moved quickly between the shelves, pressing his ear to the boxes, listening, stretching to reach a box with a particular sound and kneeling to reach yet another one. He could hear the wands. He barked a laugh when he thought of Luna...so right, yet so terribly wrong. He continued his search.

And then, he heard it: a beautiful note, a perfect note. A deep female alto, but with a faintly electrical tinge to the sound. He took three fast steps towards the sound, but was forced to stop again in order to locate it.  

He found the wall, then the section, then the shelf, and finally the box containing the wand. His hands were shaking as he slowly opened it and looked at the wand, which had fallen silent when he took the lid off the box. It was a fairly long wand, made of a blond wood with very dark, irregular growth rings that gave the illusion of the wand being burnt in places.

When he looked up, he discovered that Ollivander, Minerva and Luna were watching him: Ollivander with a smile, Minerva with something close to shock and definite worry.

Luna looked curiously at him and asked, "How did you know? Did you smell it? I always thought your nose would be very good at smelling things."

"Smell it?" Minerva said, shaking her head.

Severus rose and looked at the girl. "Actually, it sang to me," he said.

Minerva looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

Ollivander smiled. Looking almost serene he said, "I hear them also. Gregorovitch heard them, too, when he was alive. Most wandmakers do." He nodded at his own words and then took the box from Severus and looked at the wand inside.

"Mountain birch, 14 inches, rigid, phoenix-feather core. A very versatile wand." He gave the box back to Severus.

Severus touched the wand. The tingling sensation in his hand was intense. When he lifted the wand to take a closer look, without any real intent other than to familiarise himself with it, a spray of black stars shot from the tip, and a howling whirlwind threw the stars around the shop. When the wind stopped, the stars floated placidly around them, glittering and twinkling, while Minerva, Mr Ollivander, Luna and Severus looked on.

When Severus finally looked at the old man again, Ollivander's eyes were full of tears.

"I am so happy to see it in the right hands before I am gone." He nodded.

"The wand?" Severus asked.

"No, the wand shop and the craft," Ollivander answered, turning towards Minerva. "Minerva, I do not think I will meet any of your other students after all."

Then Ollivander turned to Severus. "I want you as my apprentice. Very few have the natural abilities necessary to create truly great wands. You are probably one of the chosen ones. Today I have seen wands bend to your will, even though they hadn't chosen you. I have seen you listen to the wands. You could be great."

Severus's black eyes met Ollivander's silvery ones. A wandmaker. He could be a wandmaker. One of the most prestigious professions in wizarding society. Without the slightest hesitation, Severus nodded at Ollivander.

"Welcome, my boy," Mr Ollivander said and smiled. "When can you start?"

"Now," Severus answered.

Minerva's curt voice interrupted the moment. "Aren't there any requirements, knowledge-wise, that would be necessary for him to have in this line of work? I am just wondering if Hogwarts might be able to help in any area."

Ollivander looked at Minerva and nodded slowly. "Potions would be a necessity." Severus smirked at Minerva. "He also needs Astronomy and Charms." Severus's smirk grew bigger as Minerva's face grew stonier. "And he would need Divination and Care of Magical Creatures."

This time, Minerva smiled at Severus -- smugly.

"Well then, Severus, it seems you will need to spend some time at Hogwarts, after all. I seem to remember that neither Divination nor Care of Magical Creatures are a part of your current curriculum."

Severus stiffened. He could not believe it. He was having subjects that belonged on a slag heap foisted upon him.

"Are Divination and Care of Magical Creatures really necessary?" he said to Ollivander with a sneer.

The old man nodded. "Very much so, and so are the others."

"The others aren't a problem," Severus said, with an obvious edge to his voice.

Ollivander positively beamed at him. "Then it is settled. If it is only those two, I can't see the problem. Don't you agree, Professor McGonagall?" Ollivander turned to the professor.

"I agree," said Minerva. "As long as Severus is willing to apply himself, Hogwarts is quite willing to have him ... " Her voice trailed off.

Severus closed his eyes for a fraction of a second.

"Professor McGonagall," he said, straightening his back, "would it be possible for me to take only Divination and Care of Magical Creatures lessons at Hogwarts so that I may accept the apprenticeship with Mr Ollivander?" He put some extra emphasis on the word 'only' and added, "Just sitting for the NEWTs in the other subjects?"

Minerva smiled. "But of course. On the condition that you live at Hogwarts. I feel that it is best that you live together with the other students. Would that be acceptable to you?" she asked Ollivander.

Ollivander nodded. "It would suit me very well indeed. I do not have very much room, and as the apprenticeship does not pay much, I think it would be a good solution for the young man."

"Well then," said Minerva. "It is settled." She turned to Severus. "Come along then, and pay the man. We have another stop to make. We need NEWT-level books for your new courses. I am sure Professor Trelawny and Hagrid will be very pleased. I actually think you will be Hagrid's only NEWT student. You can be sure to get special treatment." Minerva smiled at him.

"Imagine," Severus said, swearing to himself he would get back at Minerva at the first possible occasion.

"And I'm in Divination," Luna said. "Don't worry, I'll help you fit in."

Hearing that, Minerva turned and hurriedly left the store, and Severus was forced to endure her muffled giggling as they went to buy the books he needed.