Spinner's End

Chapter 30

Severus flicked on all the overhead lights in the kitchen, with magic.

He pulled open the small refrigerator. Immediately he saw some ingredients to make ham sandwiches.

Actually pulling his wand free from inside his robe, which he regarded and promptly it found itself hanging from a hanger on the lintel of the kitchen door, the sleeve resting atop a kitchen chair near the door.

He then regarded the ingredients again. Making food was not really his strong suit or his suit at all really. But he knew he could manage it if there was no cooking involved. He had to actually concentrate. But in flash, there was two fairly evenly made ham sandwiches floating inside the open refrigerator.

He made two plates from inside the cabinet appear on the table and the sandwiches moved to rest on the plates.

He briefly thought about a side dish to go with the sandwiches but decided that he didn’t want to bother and that a ham sandwich with lettuce and tomato is a complete meal anyway.

Raven came into the room.

“Oh good. Ham sandwiches.” She laughed. She’d been eating ham sandwiches all week it seemed. “ I’m going to have a glass of milk with mine.” She said brightly.

Severus looked ill at the mention of the milk.

The two sat eating the sandwiches, Severus having almost finished his. Setting it down on the plate, his mind seemed to suddenly notice the small plate with the slight remains of a melted candle in a small holder in the center of the table. His brow wrinkled.

“Who pray tell have you been entertaining with a candle light supper?” He asked his brow arching, his heart beating harder suddenly. With his napkin, he wiped at nothing on his mouth, but more to cover the hard pursing of his lips at the thought that crossed his mind. In doing so he averted his eyes ever so covetously towards the side of the room, where upon his eyes fell on the burned incense and holder on the plate.

He returned his eyes quickly to Raven, who had noticed his look at the incense plate.

“What have you been up to?” Severus questioned. His eyes had a hard look in them that Raven had never seen before and suddenly she knew in her heart of hearts that he was so much more than what he gave to her or let her have. Raven could feel her heart pound against her ribs. She could feel her pulse in her neck.


Suddenly Severus’ eyes changed. His eyebrows shot upward as he noticed atop the small ugly metal shelf where usually Raven’s spindly little houseplant sat was instead a single small seashell. He stood up. Seeming to orientate himself to the room, he also noticed the houseplant was now sitting on the kitchen counter. Turning completely away from the table he saw that one of the kitchen chairs was against the east wall, next o his hanging robe. He went over to the chair with the intent of finding some sort of object on it.

He lifted the feather from the chair. He turned toward Raven the feather in his right hand; he slid it slowly through the crook between his thumb and first finger.

“What are you doing?” He said softer this time, somewhere between a sigh and resignation.

Raven’s eyes were round with the shock of what had just happened. Her heart pounded with fear, not of Severus, but now the fear of ridicule from him. Surely her little charms were going to evoke laughter from him.

“Well, the same stuff we have always done when we feel the need.” Raven finally said. By using the word ‘we’ it instilled some pride into her voice.

Severus came over to the table he sat the feather down next to his plate. Picking up his sandwich, “We?” he inquired before taking a bite.

“My mom and sister and me.” Raven said.

Severus swallowed the bite of sandwich. He grabbed the small plate from the center of the table. He sniffed at the candle.

“Agrimony, hyssop.” He paused and sniffed again. “Nutmeg and maple?”

Raven wrinkled her forehead at him in puzzlement

“Jupiter?” He asked. Not waiting for an answer, he continued, “ honor, justice, leadership, power success?” He asked the list as a question.

Then he placed the last bite of the sandwich in his mouth.

“How do you know that stuff?” Raven asked quickly. “And how could you know what was on that plate?” She asked in a surprised voice.

“We are both so full of questions aren’t we?” Severus smiled at her. “Candle magic or candle Charms are an ancient magic. You could compare it, let’s say, to a roving storyteller in the middle ages to the radio or television of today. It’s effective but not so much at the purpose as more modern magic.”

“But I’m not magic.” Raven reminded him with a slight edge to her voice.

“Well, my sweet, don’t be so sure of that.” Severus countered wagging his finger at her. “You said that you, your sister and your mother do this Candle magic. Just don’t be too sure that you are not magic. Because to invoke the elements for change is surely as magic as I am sitting here.”

“Really?” Raven questioned, her eyes brightening at the prospect that she wasn’t going to be mocked by him.

“Naturally.” Severus said dismissively, continuing on. “Which is probably the reason that my wand took any sort of command from you that one day so long ago. I never would have imagined that you were the sort of person to have that type of magic in you. But the real question is what were you trying to do?” He asked, smiling at her.

“Well,” Raven began slowly, still not wanting to be laughed at. “Well, it was for protection.” She finally said in a smaller voice than she thought she had in her.

“Not for me I hope.” Severus said. “Although it would be touching, it really probably would have no effect on the mess I loosely referred to as my life. By it would be a touching gesture.” He reiterated as he reached out and took Ravens hand.

It was Raven’s turn to smile.

“No, it wasn’t for you.” She smiled. “It was for me.”

Severus patted the back of her hand saying. “See, I always knew that you were such a sweet caring person.”

Raven laughed at this but went on to tell him about the horrible boss again. Then she explained her procedure. She showed Severus her small collection of herbs and her ‘magic’ paraphernalia.

Raven loved that he didn’t make fun of her at all. In fact as she showed him her herbs he told her stuff about each one as they went. The only thing he didn’t like was her reference books. She only had two pamphlet type books and two smallish paperback books. Severus looked at the books. He had heard of Scott Cunningham and respected him in fact. But as for her pamphlets he took out his wand and began making corrections in them, or as he said ‘simplifying and clarifying’ them.

“God, this is tedious.” He said finally. “I’ll just go someplace and buy you some easily understandable good references to use.” He finally said after having crossed out and fixed the umpteenth mistake in the small booklet.

“Do you mean books from your world?” Raven asked in disbelief.

“Of course.” Severus said simply as he frowned over something he was still reading in Ravens small booklet then he rolled his eyes. “Ye Gods”, he exclaimed. “If you have gotten results from these, once I get you some decent material, you’ll be a full blown witch.”

Raven smiled at him.