Blackeyed Girl

@Daughter of a serpent:

thanks again! Snape and dress shopping? Oh no, you are right he is actually trying, but it won’t go that far I don’t think. I think he is rather cute too though. He is really trying now.

And of course little Eleanor has a thing for the Malfoy men, who wouldn’t? But I am afraid she is way in over her head.



Now here continues, sorry it took some time, I try to write faster again.



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Chapter 14

Keep what is Precious



As it was Christmas Eve Snape suggested to Eleanor that they should spend some time in the living room after dinner to which Eleanor gladly agreed.



Snape opened a bottle of wine, filled a quarter of a glass for her and offered it to her silently before he sat down and took a sip from his own glass. He did not let Eleanor feel how awkward he was. He would have preferred to simply dive back into his lab after dinner but Dumbledore had made very clear to him that Christmas was important.



“I suppose”, he started eventually, Lucius words still in his mind, “I have never asked you how you like Hogwarts.”



Eleanor looked up. “I enjoy being at Hogwarts, Sir,” she said truthfully, looking away from him over to Molly, who played with a little wooden toy that she had wrestled out of the Christmas tree. Snape was quiet for a while then he asked:



“Beside your friendship with certain Gryffindors… you mentioned before that the other students tend to… stay away from you. Is that still so?”



Eleanor looked down on her knees and shrugged: “I guess so… I mean … yeah…”



“Do you feel as though they dislike you?”



Eleanor thought about this for a moment then she answered: “No. I think they just don’t want to know me.”



“Why?” he asked and felt reminded of his own youth at Hogwarts, where most students made an effort to walk far around him if possible.



Eleanor shrugged.



“Should you have trouble with a student or a group of students at any point I want you to come to me. I will not tolerate you getting bullied.”



Eleanor looked away and smiled: “Okay.”



It was quiet again then she looked back at him. He seemed to be in a good mood. This was her chance to ask questions and perhaps get answers.



“Can I ask you something, Sir?”



“You can try.”



“About your friend, Mr. Malfoy.”



Snape looked suspiciously at her: “Yes?”



“I heard that some people believe he is a Deatheater. Do you know why they would believe that?”



“And with some people you are of course revering to one special, all knowing Harry Potter.”



Eleanor looked away quickly, of course he was seeing right through her.



“Well, he seems very certain, I wonder why.”



“I suppose he also believes me to be a Deatheater, does he not?”



Eleanor bit her lip and lied: “I don’t know.”



Snape knew she was lying, but he let it go.



“Besides all his fame, Mr Potter is nothing but a mediocre 16 year old student. You would do well to keep that in mind. As to his… suspicions, I do not know why Mr. Potter has such rather fantastic ideas about Mr Malfoy and me. I work for the Headmaster, I support him in his fight against You-Know-Who and that is already more than I should tell you and believe me it will be the only thing I will ever tell you about that. As far as Mr. Malfoy is concerned I can assure you that he is not a Deatheather. However he is descendant off a very old Wizarding family and I am sure you noticed how much he values pure Wizarding blood. I suppose that his obsession over traditions and the preservation of pure blood Wizardry is what makes Mr Potter simply assume that he is a supporter of the Dark Lord, … that and his jealousy over Lucius’s son outdoing him in school, I suppose.”



Eleanor remained quiet and thought this over. She did not believe that Harry had no other reason for his theory. After all his friend shared his suspicions. She bit her lip. She did not feel any wiser. Deep in thought she nipped on her glass and decided that wine tasted like liquid tobacco. She put it on the coffee table and pushed it far away from herself. She looked back at Molly, who was playing. She wished she could talk to Luna or Ginny about her encounter with Draco’s father. She wanted to ask Ginny if her dress was really that awful and why she had never told her. And she wandered what they would say if Eleanor told them what an impressive person Mr. Malfoy was. Had they ever even met him? And what would Harry tell her if she told him how Snape had reassured her that neither of them were Deatheaters? Why could Molly not be an owl? She looked at the kitten and she knew, this one would never care to deliver a letter for her. She sighed, she was on her own with it all right now. She would have to trust her own instincts.



Snape watched her silently. He could understand that Eleanor was curious about these things. But he would never involve her into his work for Dumbledore in any way. She must not know anything about what he pretended to be up to with Lucius for the Dark Lord. He had not wanted her to come along to Spinner’s End because of this reason but Dumbledore had given him no choice. And Snape understood why Dumbledore seemed to be so ignorant of the fact that Eleanor might be introduced to Deatheaters on her Christmas holidays. There was no risk for her. She was pureblood and she was very young. The Dark Lord did not waste his time on children and he knew that Deatheaters, who had children, like Lucius Malfoy did not involve their kids into what they were doing. They were generally kept outside this business and remained mostly clueless and that was how he was going to keep Eleanor. And since she was not some nosy Gryffindor he was confident that she would not start poking her nose into his business, even though she was curious. Lucius suggestion to bring Eleanor to the party came back to his mind. He watched his ward. Would she want to go to an event like that? She would have no idea how to conduct herself there. And somehow Snape did not feel comfortable with the idea to take her shopping. That was nothing for him. He did not even know where the shops where in which women bought their clothes. He shrugged off the thought. It was a lot of nonsense. Since when did he listen to Lucius Malfoy’s advice again? He had stopped looking to him for advice many years ago and he was not going to start again.



The next morning Eleanor woke up late. The sky was dark grey and with a look out of the window Eleanor thought Snape’s small house might snow under, it was snowing so furiously.

She dressed and went downstairs. She met Snape sitting where she had left him last night, but this time he was not drinking wine. A tray with tee and biscuits stood before him on the coffee table.



He turned to her when he heard her enter and said: “I hope you are not expecting a pony or something?”



Eleanor ignored his commend and smiled when she saw her Christmas tree, which was now lid. She had placed her gift for Snape under the tree before going to bed last night but now there were two more things lying there. They were not wrapped but from the distance she could not make out what they were. She looked at Snape and then walked towards the tree to look closer. She heard him get up from his chair and follow her. He stopped behind her.



“It’s Christmas, I am told”; he said awkwardly, “I am not a Christmas sort of person, never liked it… but I found a few things when I was cleaning up and I thought you might have use for them.”



Eleanor stepped toward the Christmas tree and looked closer at the arrangement of objects on the floor. There were 3 different sized caldrons, but they looked a little different then her standard caldron, perhaps they were of a different material. Besides those, there were a scale and an assortment of knifes and a few small glass tubes of dried potions ingredients.



“This is an old potion kit of mine. I used it after I graduated from Hogwarts. Most of these things are designed for more advances potions and to optimise your work. You won’t be allowed to use them in class but I thought perhaps you would like to have them for your own studies.”



Eleanor turned her head towards him: “Thank you, I would.” She turned away again and picked up an old large book that lay next to the potion kit.



She read the title ‘The Dark Arts: Fascination and Danger”



“This was a gift from Professor Dumbledore to me when I was still a student at Hogwarts. I wish I had read it more carefully at the time…”



“Thank you”, said Eleanor, she did not know what else to say. She had not expected presents. And it almost made her forget that she had something for him too, but then she remembered.



“Oh!” she said and picked up her wrapped object and gave it to him, “I have something for you, too. I have no money, so I could not buy anything. But I wanted to make you something.”



Snape took the gift and looked at her unsure. He had not expected anything either.



He unwrapped the object slowly as though he half expected it to bite him once it was free of the paper. When he had unwrapped it completely he froze, glaring at it.



He was holding a painted wooden sculpture of a snake, which had curled itself neatly around a lily flower. And there was a line written across its base: “Keep what is precious inside forever.”



After a moment he said in a whisper: “What gave you the idea for this?”



Eleanor shrugged: “Don’t know. I don’t really know what you like. But you were in Slytherin and you are Head of Slytherin, so snakes are kind of symbolic for a part of you, aren’t they? And flowers… well, I think they stand for something good and pure so… I just felt that it is important, no matter what happens to oneself to keep what is good wrapped up inside. That’s what I do…”



He looked from the sculpture down to her in disbelieve.



“Why a lily?”



Eleanor looked at the sculpture in his hand and shrugged: “Is that a lily? I didn’t know. It was the only flower that I could carve out of my head without having a model”, she frowned, “something wrong with lilies?”



“No”, Snape said stunned, his glare returning to the sculpture. Could this really be a coincidence? He would have been convinced that this was some kind to trick somehow, but Eleanor seemed genuinely unaware of it so he decided to accept that it was in fact a coincidence.



“Thank you very much”, he said looking back at her. Eleanor frowned. She had not expected this gift to have such an effect on him. After all it was jut a silly little carved piece of wood, nothing special. But she saw him suddenly shake and his gaze fell down towards his forearm, which was holding the sculpture. He looked back up at her, his face slightly tense.



“You will have to spend some time with out me. I have to go. I assume I will be back in a few hours”, he said.



Eleanor did not understand. Where did this come from? Where would he have to go on Christmas? But she did not ask. She tried to swallow her disappointment and nodded.



“I’ll be fine.”



Snape only nodded, put the sculpture on the coffee table, turned and left the room.



Eleanor looked after him, and then decided to not let this spoil her Christmas. She turned her attention back to the Christmas tree and her presents. She inspected the potion kit more closely and after she was finished she gave Molly her special Christmas treat. Then she made herself comfortable in the old armchair and started reading in the Dark Arts book. It was truly fascinating. It explained curses and dark magic into the last detail, uncovering its dangerous power and downside. Eleanor could not help being intrigued but her fear of the dark arts had also never been so strong. She had never been so clear about the terrible effect dark magic had on anyone. Both people who cast it and those on the receiving end.



Hours went by till Snape returned. He looked a bit paler and more tired than when he had left. Eleanor looked up from her book.



“Are you alright?” she asked. She had the feeling he did not want to be asked where he was or what it was all about, but she was worried.



Snape sat down in the chair opposite her and inhaled deeply. He waved his wand at his drink cabinet and summoned a glass and a bottle of fire-whisky.



He only spoke after he had had a sip from his drink: “We have a bit of a problem.”



Eleanor put down the book and looked at him, waiting for him to continue, “I told you before, I work for the Headmaster in matters concerning the Dark Lord. It turns out that I have to go on a secret mission for a while, starting tomorrow.”



“Did Professor Dumbledore send you on this mission?” she asked.



He looked back at her: “I can not speak to you about this. But the fact is that I have to leave here tomorrow. I will be gone for some time and I do not feel that I can leave you here on your own. I am sorry.”



Eleanor lowered her head: “Am I supposed to go back to Hogwarts then?” she asked a knot forming in her throat. She had not liked the idea to stay behind at Hogwarts if none of her friends were, but now having to return there when even the Professor was not going to be there was a more than depressing idea. She might as well return to her school in Romania. She felt abandoned already. Snape did not speak for a while then he said:



”I’m afraid I don’t know any other option.” She looked at him and studied his face. She could tell there was something else.



“What is it?” she asked, “there is another option, is there not?”



“Well, not exactly. I do not consider it an option, but Lucius Malfoy offered to take you into his house till New Year.”



Something inside Eleanor seemed to explode. She could feel adrenalin of both terror and excitement wash over her. She rose out of her chair and the sudden glee on her face was not hidden from Snape. He looked at her critically: “I do not think that it is a good idea.”



“Why not?” she asked breathlessly.



“The Malfoy’s are a very prestigious family. You are not used to their lifestyle and I do not want you to get used to it either.”



“It would be just for a few days though”, she argued carefully.



“I don’t like it.”



“I don’t see what the problem is”, she said quietly.



He looked at her suspiciously: “You don’t even know the Malfoys. Why are you so keen on going?”



Eleanor looked to the floor and shrugged: “I liked Mr. Malfoy. He was nice. And I know Draco and I like him, too. Besides I rather be with a real family, than in school when nobody else is there.”



Snape hesitated a moment. He doubted that Eleanor found Lucius nice. He knew very well what an effect Lucius usually had on women no matter what age. He had witnessed it so many times. When he was younger he used to get insanely jealous of the pure blood wizard and how simply every girl fell for him if he only so much as looked at them. He had envied him so much and dreamed of being like him. If he had Lucius looks and charm he would have been able to make Lily love him, he was sure. None of this mattered now. But all these years of watching and envying made it crystal clear to him. His ward had an infatuation with the man. And Snape did not like it at all. The only thing that kept him calm was the fact that she was still so young and clearly so innocent in her mind that she probably did not even realise of what kind her feelings towards the wizard were. She probably honestly believed that she simply found him sympathetic. The only reason why he did not entirely disregard the option of leaving her with the Malfoys was that, as rotten as Lucius Malfoys soul was, he was not a paedophile. Of course Snape knew that Lucius was aware of his effect on women and also on his ward. Right from the moment of his introduction Snape had seen it, -the thing Lucius did all the time. He was playing with her. He used his charm and charisma to dazzle her. Snape was not sure how much this simply came natural to him these days or if he was still doing it on purpose. But it didn’t matter. This was simply his way with women. It amused him to make them blush and to make them lust after him. But Snape knew this did not mean that he had any intentions. Lucius had a beautiful wife and still he could have any woman he wanted. He was not interested in a scruffy, freaky fifteen Year old. It was beyond a joke. He should be more worried that Draco Malfoy would not be able to keep his hands of her driven by uncontrollable teenage-hormones. And besides, Lucius obviously considered Eleanor one of them, a pure blood with potential to be part of society. Snape himself did not see it and was not keen on this anyway but it meant one more important thing. Young pure blood witches who wanted to be respected and make a good pure blood marriage had to be untouched for their marriage. Snape forced himself to stop that trail of thinking. It was ridiculous to be worried about Eleanor’s innocence. She was yet still a child, had she been 3 years older things would be slightly different. But Eleanor was not the class of woman that Lucius was interested in. The shear idea was ridicules. But Snape knew why this till crossed his mind. Too often had he witnessed Lucius rape young women, muggles and muggleborns…but he himself had done it too the one or other time… that was something different though even for Lucius.



But in the end of the day the Malfoys were not a family he would happily entrust with anyone these days. But after all he used to have a different view on them years ago when Lucius helped him to become somebody… As far as Lucius was concerned, their friendship had not changed and Eleanor was one of them. She would be in no danger at Malfoy Manor.



And her infatuation with Lucius aside, he could also understand why Eleanor would prefer to stay with any family as supposed to going back to Hogwarts. He himself had loved leaving home each summer to return to Hogwarts because his family life had been hell. It was the opposite with her. Her family life had been torn away from her and replaced with Hogwarts. Going back there during the holidays would confront her very harshly with the fact that she had no family to go back to. And even her guardian really had no time for her. As little as he wanted to concern himself with such deeper problems of his guardianship, Dumbledore had wanted him to take Eleanor away from Hogwarts at all costs, even though he knew she would be more exposed to Snape’s secret work with the Deatheaters, so perhaps he did not really have a choice. The Dark Lord was going to send him on a mission tomorrow morning and he had a lot to prepare. Lucius offered him an easy way out and Eleanor was for it. So was there any good reason not to do it? He was not comfortable with it, but when he thought it through, what was he afraid of?