An Unlikely Savior ~ (Edit) COMPLETED

Chapter 43 ~ Invitations

Of course, Snape wasn’t getting off that easy. Eileen was full of questions as to why he wanted to give Odessa a job.

”Dad, are you—you shagging Odessa?” Eileen asked him, her eyes round.

He scowled at her.

”That’s a very personal question, Eileen,” he responded, studying his clipboard as if something extremely interesting was written on it.

”You are!” Eileen said. “Dad, a prostitute?”

Snape sighed and put down his clipboard.

”There were extenuating circumstances, Eileen,” he told her uncomfortably.

”I’m listening,” his daughter said, folding her arms. It wasn’t that she thought his using a prostitute was all that bad, they provided a service after all, and he didn’t have anyone, but still, it was something out of character for him, she was sure.

“The night I returned home, after our argument, I—I had a bit too much to drink,” he admitted as Eileen stared at him.

”You got drunk, dad?” she asked him in a low voice.

Knockturn Alley was not the place to get drunk in, ever.

”Apparently I did, and according to Odessa, I shouted for her and she found me—incapacitated—“

”Drunk,” Eileen corrected as he frowned at her.

”Well, she closed up the shop for me and took me home,” Snape said. “She stayed the night and helped me sober up the next morning. She cooked for me and was about to leave—but I asked her to stay.”

”Oh, dad,” Eileen said softly, feeling guilty. Her father never got drunk. He might have a Firewhiskey now and then, but that was rare. He must have been very upset, and feeling very alone.

”Odessa was the one who talked sense into me, Eileen. She made me see you hadn’t turned your back on me, but I was the one who walked away from you. And I’m very sorry about that. I just—I just don’t want you to—to—“

Snape’s voice faltered, but Eileen understood what he was trying to say.

”Dad, I’m not going anywhere,” she said softly, “and I’m never going to forget about you, ever.”

Snape drew in a deep breath, and blinked his eyes rapidly to compose himself.

”Well, Odessa told me a bit of her story, Eileen. She wasn’t much older than you when she went into her line of work. Her father abused her, impregnated her, then gave her a potion that killed her child and ruined her womb. He ran off, and was killed. She was left with nothing and no one. She was only sixteen.”

Eileen stared at her father. That was so sad.

Snape blinked at her.

”Now that I have a daughter, Eileen, I can’t help but to feel sympathy for Odessa. She’s in her mid-forties and that’s old for someone in her profession. After more than thirty years of this life, she needs to retire. That’s why I want to give her a job.”

”But, can she brew, dad? I mean, it’s nice you want to help her, but if she can’t earn her keep, it’s just giving money away,” Eileen told him softly.

”Oh, but she can earn her keep, and she will, Eileen. I don’t need her to brew. I need her to run the shop, deal with the customers, take inventory, keep supplies on the shelf, take orders and things of that nature so I can brew. You know I have those big accounts, and to be honest, I’m behind quite a bit because I have to do all these things myself.”

”But, dad, I can help you,” Eileen said. “I’ve always helped you during vacations.”

Snape gave her a small smirk.

”I need more than ‘help,’ Eileen. I need another permanent employee. Besides, you need your free time to spend with your mother and the rest of your family. Your world has become much bigger, and I won’t have you stuck behind a counter when you can be out experiencing it,” he said softly. “I’ve had you to myself for all these years, but it’s time to let other people in. It’s time for both of us to let other people in.”

Eileen blinked rapidly, her brown eyes filled with unshed tears. Their little world was no longer theirs. The cocoon had burst open and it was time to fly. She wiped at her eyes with her hand and Snape walked up to her, looking down for a moment, then kneeling beside the chair. He covered his daughter’s hand with his own, staring at it for a moment. Then he looked at her, black eyes meeting brown eyes.

“I never wanted to share you, Eileen. I was a selfish father. Covetous. I believed I alone could give you everything you needed to be happy, and grow up to be an exemplary young woman. I believed I could do it because those things were so lacking in my own life. I was to you what my father and mother never were to me. All the love I ever desired, I showered on you. I made sure you never felt unloved. I made sure you knew there was someone there who would protect you, defend you, and give his life for you. I made sure you knew this world could be cold and cruel, and I taught you how to protect yourself against it.”

Tears quietly ran down Eileen’s cheeks as her father poured his heart out to her.

”I tried to fill you with as much knowledge as I could as early as I could, and give you an appreciation of it. It paid off. It all paid off, Eileen. I am so—so very proud of you.”

Snape’s voice failed him for a moment. Expressing himself this way wasn’t easy, but it was freeing.

”But last night, seeing you dancing with your siblings made me realize that I can’t give you everything. Not any longer. I have to step aside and let you acquire what you need on your own. It’s the fate of every parent in the end.”

Snape pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to his daughter. Eileen dabbed at her eyes and looked at him through red rims.

”Dad, you sound like you’re leaving me,” she said softly.

”Oh, no. No. Never that, Eileen. Never that. I’m always going to be here for you when you need me. I’m not going anywhere. But our relationship has changed. For one, there’s your mother now, and you are going to have to develop a relationship with her. Two, you’re growing up and starting to make your own rules. I can no longer dictate them to you based on how I feel. What you feel has to be taken into consideration. This isn’t leaving—it’s more of a loosening of the reins. You are going to take more responsibility for your life and the direction it takes. I am simply giving you the freedom to do that, although, you aren’t in the clear yet. I will still put my boot down when I deem it necessary, young lady. Believe that.”

Eileen smiled at him then, reassured. She reached over and hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder.

”I love you, dad,” she said softly.

Snape patted her back lightly and closed his eyes.

”I know, Eileen. I know,” he replied.

Snape hadn’t meant for this to turn into a father/daughter talk, but he was glad it did and that he got through it. He and Eileen had reached a new level in their relationship, and the difficult plateau that most parents and children had to struggle to reach, was little more than a bumpy slope for them.

Communication was everything.

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”He’s agreed to meet with me,” Hermione said, reading the parchment Ginny had found resting in an envelope on the doorstep outside her flat. They were in the living room

”Who?” Ginny asked her as the kids raided the cooler in the kitchen, making a racket as they fought over ingredients to make sandwiches.

Visible through the open kitchen door, James flew by for a split second as he ran from one side of the kitchen to the other with a jar of fruit preserves in his hand. Lily was in hot pursuit with her wand drawn, her red hair streaming under her Weasley hat.

They disappeared beyond vision for a moment, then there was a little shout a flash, and a hoarse cry. Then Lily was visible again as she marched back to the other side of the kitchen with the preserves, then James staggered by, whirling and cursing, his words muffled by the bat bogey firmly attached to his face as he clutched at the nasty thing, pulling chunks off.

Lily would have her sandwich made by the time he got rid of it.

”Severus Snape,” Hermione replied. “He wants me to meet him and Eileen at the Three Broomsticks on Boxing Day at one. He’s reserved a private booth for us and says we can discuss the situation over lunch. His treat.”

Ginny blinked.

”Are you sure that’s from Snape? If it is, it sounds like he’s setting up an ambush to me, Hermione,” she said, her brows wrinkling.

Hermione chuckled.

”No, it’s from him. I recognize the cramped, spiky writing,” she said. “I can’t believe he’s being so reasonable about this, especially the way he stormed off the other night.”

Ginny considered.

”Maybe—maybe he’s changed over the years, Hermione. He’s a dad, now and has his daughter to think about. That might be enough to make him reasonable,” Ginny suggested.

“Maybe,” Hermione replied, folding up the parchment. “I just hope everything goes well. This is going to be hard, Ginny. I just know it is.”

Ginny shook her head.

”It doesn’t have to be, Hermione. You just need to know what boundaries he’s put on Eileen, and work within that framework when she’s with you. And when it comes to school, make sure both of you are notified if anything goes wrong, and double check that the other knows. Make a few rules, maybe draw up a kind of family contract.”

Hermione smiled at Ginny.

”What a wonderful idea. I’ve heard about those,” Hermione said. “I can read up on the subject before I meet with Severus and Eileen. That way, everything will be laid out plainly and Eileen could participate in it.”

Then Hermione looked thoughtful.

”You know, if we do a family contract, it’s going to have to be more than just me, Eileen and Severus. Ron and the children should be in on it, too. They are part of the family and will be interacting with Eileen, too,” she said consideringly.

Ginny shook her head slightly.

”I hope Snape brings enough Galleons to cover lunch,” she said. “Looks like there’s going to be a bigger guest list than he thinks.”

“He can put it on his account,” Hermione responded with a wicked grin.

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Snape walked through Knockturn Alley, his black eyes shifting all about as he searched for Odessa. He passed by Cedric’s Sex Symposium and the young hookers standing about, all smiling at him.

”Want to spend a little time?” a blonde witch asked him, her lips pouting sexily.

Snape stopped and looked at her. Good gods, she couldn’t be more than eighteen or nineteen. He blinked down at her, wondering where her father was.

The prostitute looked up at him.

”So, do you want to take a little tumble or not?” she asked him.

”Not. I’m looking for Odessa. Odessa Divine,” he said shortly.

The girl scowled at him.

”I don’t see why you’d want a dried out old whore like her,” she hissed. “She doesn’t hook around here. Too much competition.”

The girl drew her hand over her hip for emphasis. Snape wasn’t the least bit moved by the display.

”Where does she ‘hook,’ then?” he asked impatiently.

”At the end of the alley,” the witch said, pointing to the most unsavory part of Knockturn Alley.

”She’s either there, or in Hogsmeade at the Hogshead Inn. She hangs around there hoping for a cheap pickup during the week if she can’t get a john here. I hear she’s giving half-rate. Maybe that’s why you want to see her, you bloody cheapskate. Well, you get what you pay for.”

The hooker’s voice was full of scorn. Giving it up for just a Galleon and a half was low even for a prostitute.

Snape walked away from her, heading down the alley. It was the darkest area of Knockturn Alley, the streets lined with shifty-eyed undesirables, people selling stolen goods and turning up bags to their lips. There was the smell of spoilage in the damp, stale air, and worse, the scent of old blood.

Snape strode through the area without incident. There were a few sad-looking whores standing about, not even approaching him, they were so downtrodden.

Odessa wasn’t among them, thank gods. She was older, but not in as bad a shape as these poor women. Some were in their seventies or eighties. Witches aged slower than Muggles, so they looked to be in their fifties, but that was still far too old to be in their line of work.

Snape turned back and headed for Diagon Alley. Once he cleared Knockturn Alley, he Disapparated.

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Odessa was belly up to the bar, nursing a Butterbeer, the ancient barkeep staring at her as she took forever to drink it. There were a smattering of patrons present, but no one interested in getting a quick shag.

”You know, Odessa, I’m going to start charging you lodging fees,” Aberforth wheezed at her, using a dirty bar rag to clean a glass. “You sit here nearly everyday and never buy more than two Butterbeers.”

”I’m on a budget, Aberforth. Things are tight,” she told him tiredly.

“Not as tight as they used to be, eh Odessa?” he chuckled, as she looked at him dejectedly. “I’ve known you how long?”

”Too long,” she said softly, sipping her warm beer and trying not to make a face. Warm Butterbeer tasted terrible.

The door to the tavern opened and closed, Odessa not even looking up. Business was so bad she was sure whoever it was wouldn’t be worth the effort.

”I mean it, Odessa. You’re just taking up space here. If you’re going to hang about, we’re going to have to work it out in trade if you don’t have money,” the goat-headed old wizard said.

”Whatever, Aberforth,” Odessa sighed.

Suddenly some coin was slammed down on the counter.

”Give the lady a cold Butterbeer,” a silken voice said quietly.

Odessa recognized the voice immediately and looked up.

”Severus! What are you doing in this dive?” she asked him as Aberforth scowled.

”This is a perfectly fine establishment for people who want to tie one on without bells and whistles,” he said in the shabby inn’s defense.

”Actually, I was looking for you,” he replied, his dark eyes taking in her tired appearance.

Odessa straightened as Aberforth bad-naturedly set another Butterbeer before her and took away the other, along with the coins.

”Me? Why?” she asked him, wishing she looked more chipper.

”I want to invite you to Christmas dinner,” he told her.

”Christmas dinner?” Odessa repeated. She couldn’t remember having Christmas dinner since she was a very young girl.

”Yes, Christmas dinner. It would just be you, I and Eileen.”

Odessa looked thrilled for a moment, but it soon faded.

”I—I can’t, Severus. I appreciate the offer, but Christmas is one of my best working days. Wizards like to give other wizards ‘special’ gifts, especially after they’ve had a few too many Christmas ciders. They don’t much care who they’re with.”

Snape stared at her.

”I’ll pay you to come,” he said shortly.

”Oh, I couldn’t do that, Severus,” the witch said.

”Are you telling me my money’s no good with you, Odessa?” the wizard asked her darkly.

”No, I’m not telling you that, Severus. It’s just that I need to make a good amount of money over the holiday, more than I could earn with one wizard. I’m behind in rent—“

”I’ll cover it,” he said. “I’ll pay your back rent for you.”

Odessa stared at him.

”I’ll prepay it,” the dark wizard said.

Aberforth stared at Snape. He knew who he was of course, the man who killed his brother, Albus. But, he didn’t care about that. Albus had been rich and didn’t leave him a Knut, the selfish old bastard.

”I’m behind more than two months, Severus. It was three but I paid up two weeks. I owe ten weeks—“

”Consider it an early Christmas gift, Odessa. I want you to have Christmas dinner at my home. You are the first person I’ve ever invited to share my table. Don’t disappoint me.”

Odessa blinked at Snape. Everything decent in her said not to accept his money this way, but her street sense told her she’d be a fool not to let him pay her rent. Not having a place would make business even harder. She’d have to turn tricks in niches and back alleys. The street sense won out, but she didn’t feel good about it. She steeled herself.

”All right. But you’d have to pay it today,” she told Snape.

”You’re out of your mind,” Aberforth interjected, screwing his face up at Snape. “She’s taking you for a ride, and I don’t mean the usual one. She’s not worth what you’re willing to give. You could buy a decent call girl and have plenty of change left over. You’d be better off if you ask me.”

”I didn’t ask you,” Snape said coldly, taking Odessa’s arm.

”Come along, Odessa. I’ll take care of it now.”

Odessa slid off the bar stool. She tried to drink the rest of her Butterbeer but Snape tugged on her arm and stonily said, “Leave it,” so she did, although she hated wasting it.

They walked out of the inn, the sky darkening above them.

”I guess Eileen is watching the shop,” the witch said as Snape walked up the street with her, his arm still locked in hers.

”Yes,” he said shortly as people looked at him walking with the prostitute in such an open manner. Most customers followed behind their whores, not walked with them.

”Maybe you’d better let me go, Severus. I’ll meet you in front of Cedric’s Sex Symposium,” Odessa told him softly as a witch bundled up in furs turned up her nose at the pair and muttered, “the nerve.”

“No—you won’t,” Snape said, Disapparating with her.

They reappeared with a clap of thunder in front of Cedric’s Sex Symposium, startling the young prostitutes standing about. They looked at Snape and Odessa consideringly, noting they were arm and arm.

A bold little redhead walked up to Snape sexily and said, “Hi, I’m Bunny,” tossing her hair a little. “I give a good shag for a good price and I’m still fresh.”

”Bunny? Well, I suggest you hop away. I’m not interested,” he said, leading Odessa into the sex shop.

Behind the counter stood a short, pale, pockmarked wizard with watery blue eyes. His black hair was short and greasy, parted in the middle and he stood with a slight hunch. He rubbed his knuckles rather obsessively.

This piece of work was Cedric, the proprietor of the shop. His eyes fell on Odessa and he frowned.

”I’ve been looking for you, you little rent dodger,” he hissed at her, his eyes shifting to Snape for a moment. “If you don’t have my money, I’m changing the locks. That’s prime real estate and there are girls dying to get that flat. I’m not running a charity for down-on-their luck whores.”

“How much does she owe you?” Snape asked, his face contorted at the way he addressed Odessa.

Cedric looked at him with interest, then looked back at Odessa.

”Finally got yourself a pimp, eh?” he asked, sneering at the witch. “Don’t see why he’d choose you, there’s plenty of unattached young sna—“

Cedric didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence as Snape grabbed him by the collar and half dragged him over the counter and snarled, “I’m not her pimp. Now, how much does she owe you, you disgusting little bastard?”

”One hundred Galleons,” Cedric wheezed.

Snape threw him back, the wizard falling against a display of dildos behind the counter before he straightened. He didn’t say a word as Snape grabbed a pen and a piece of parchment off the counter and scribbled something on it, then pushed it toward him.

”That’s my account. Charge the back rent and the upcoming month,” he hissed at Cedric. “I’ll check my funds. If you’ve overcharged me, be prepared for a very unpleasant personal response. I won’t be sending Aurors.”

”Y—yes sir,” Cedric said, cowed.

”Come along, Odessa. I want to see what I’ve just paid for,” Snape said, catching her arm again.

Odessa was dumbstruck and looked back at Cedric as the Potions master led her out of the shop. This time, none of the younger prostitutes approached Snape as they walked down Knockturn Alley.

”Where is your flat?” he asked Odessa.

”This way,” she said, pointing back in the direction of the unsavory section of the alley. Snape frowned, then began walking. They passed the same unsavory characters, then turned down a dirty, trash-strewn little alley and stopped in front of a solid iron door.

Snape noticed that the trash was neatly swept away from this area. Odessa pulled out her wand and made a complicated series of flicks and swishes before softly saying, “Alohamora.”

It had been warded with her signature for extra security. She opened the door and walked in, Snape following her in. Odessa flicked her wand at a candle lamp hanging overhead and it lit up, revealing her abode.

The room measured about twenty by twenty feet. It was furnished with a full-sized sofa, a coffee table stacked with magazines, a small kitchenette, a table with two chairs, a cooler, a wardrobe and a bathroom off to the right. There wasn’t much else except for a rather faded picture of a vase of flowers on the wall.

”This is home,” Odessa said. “I’ve lived here almost twenty years.”

Snape looked around the cramped quarters, noting there was no bedroom.

”Where do you—er—entertain?” he asked her delicately.

She pointed to the sofa.

”It’s a pull-out bed,” she said, her green eyes resting on it before shifting towards him. “Would you like me to pull it out? You paid my rent after all. It’s the least I could do.”

Snape looked toward the sofa, then back at Odessa.

”No, that won’t be necessary, Odessa. Just be at my house for Christmas dinner around threeish,” he responded softly. “I’ve got to go.”

He turned toward the door.

”Severus?”

He turned back toward the witch.

”Yes?” he answered, his face expressionless.

”Why—why are you so good to me? I don’t mean anything to you. I don’t mean anything to anyone,” Odessa said quietly. “I never have.”

Snape didn’t answer her for a moment.

”Perhaps it’s because so few have been good to me, Odessa,” he replied, “and I empathize.”

”So, it’s pity, then,” she said tremulously.

”No, it’s not pity, Odessa, believe me,” the wizard replied.

”Well, what is it, then?” she asked him.

”I’m not sure. Perhaps, a returned kindness. I could have been cleaned out if you hadn’t come to my aid that night. I would have lost far more than one hundred Galleons. I could have lost my life as well. I never forget a kindness, Odessa, or a debt.”

”You don’t owe me anything,” she said.

”We don’t know that, do we?” he replied softly. “You could have saved my life. What’s a little money and a bit of food compared to that?”

Odessa didn’t answer him.

”I must go. I’ll see you Christmas day,” the wizard said, then exited her flat.

Odessa stood there a moment, then warded the door carefully.

She sat down on the sofa with a sigh. Even if she might have kept Severus from meeting a sticky end that night, this all seemed a bit too much. She wasn’t used to receiving kindness without giving something in return. Everything in her life was reciprocal and usually with a price tag. No one just did things for her, and it was better that way. That way, there were no unwanted attachments. Whores didn’t make attachments. They were bad for business as well as bad for the heart. The heart had to stay closed if the legs were to stay open. That’s just the way it was.

Still, she didn’t know what to make of Mr. Severus Snape.

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A/N: Ah, the double entendre. An Unlikely Savior could apply to Odessa as well as Snape. I like when things just come together like that. Thanks for reading.