A Ward of Hogwart\'s

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. I do own Rebecca and other characters NOT associated with JKR and such. Thank you.

A Ward of Hogwart’s


Chapter Five


Reflections

~~~

Becca strolled leisurely back to her room. She had had a marvelous time at her party and had really hated it when it had to end. Everyone was just so nice to her and she had almost forgotten what time it was. Then Severus had to come barging in like he normally did and froze the whole group in fear.

Once in her room she threw herself down onto her bed with an outburst of giggles. They way they all scrambled out of their chambers tickled her to no end. If they all knew the great, bad, Professor Severus Snape like she did, they would know it was all just an act. In these last two years, she had learned so much about her Guardian that she could now look on him with proud eyes and why not? He had chosen her to be his surrogate daughter. He had thrown away two years to care and raise her and they still have two more to go until her graduation.

She stood up from the bed where she had flung herself and walked over to her vanity table where her eyes settled on the crystal and silver present from him. She ran her fingers over the clear cut crystal and smiled softly. He wasn’t so bad. He was really a kind and considerate man. Anything she needed he would have for her befohe ehe even had to ask. She had no idea how he did it but there they always were, either sitting on her bed or lying on her desk, waiting to be put to use. It was like he could read her mind at times. He always knew what she wanted.

Like this vanity.

In a way, his buying it instead of books told her more than mere words would ever do.

The purchase of this gift told her that he cared for her, that he wanted the best for her and that, in his way, he loved her. She knew he did just by the way they talked to each other, the way that they could ramble on for hours on end about absolutely nothing. They could talk long into the night and into the next day without even realizing it. He would suddenly look up and notice the sun starting to rise and she would grin sleepily. Those nights were the best. Those were the times when she felt special to him.

He made her forget her past.

He never once raised a hand to her. He barely even raised his voice in her presence except during class when she forgot to add something to her potion. She knew he was only concerned that her lapse in judgment might cause her harm in his class so she never took it personal. She would only nod and return to not notes to see what she had done wrong.

She knew she was always safe with him.

It wasn’t always like that though; in the beginning, it was rough for them both. It took a while for her to stop flinching whenever he came near her. Her fear of being raped again was always in the back of her mind during the first few months she lived in such close quarters with him. In these dungeons, who would be able to hear her screaming?

But he was patient with her; he knew of her fear and tried to give her no cause to worry. He hadn’t moved too quickly nor spoken angrily directly at her. When he was mad, he would normally keep his attention on the fire in the hearth and speak to her that way, never looking directly at her.

She hated to see him angry, his eyes darkening to jet-black in color and his face turning to a deep shade of red. It was scary the first time she saw it and she nearly ran, screaming, from the room. She had forgotten what that one bout of anger was about and really, she didn’t want to remember. From that point on, he shielded his anger from her in this manner, always talking to the fire instead of directly at her.

It went for the first year that way. The next year was much easier on them both. They had learned to get along and even appreciated each other’s thoughts and ideas. She didn’t think twice about telling him anything personal and she laughed when he told her of things from his past. She found that he was a terribly funny man and she loved to see him laugh. His eyes would scrunch up and the sounds would come from deep inside of his chest and come out in a roaring, vibrant sound. It was infectious; soon she would be laughing along with him, and another long evening would be lost in their conversations, more wonderful memories to be locked up in her mind and cherished forever.

She plucked up the black cloths from her dresser and covered the mirrors in her room. It was a habit she started when she was a little girl. She never could sleep in a room with uncovered mirrors. They made her feel uncomfortable and she feared that there was a presence in them other than her reflection. It wasn’t that she was unaware that the magical mirrors sometimes did possess an entity…this was a different fear, an irrational fear.

She was afraid that she would see her parents in them sometimes.

She had read once in a book of superstitions that the reflections of a mirror allowed Satan, or the Devil, or Lucifer--whichever you preferred to think of as the ultimate darkness--to reach out and touch you during your sleep. And her thoughts of ultimate darkness were of them.

Her parents.

Her fear of uncovered mirrors never left her, even after all these years. She knew that she was safe, that Severus would protect her, but that deeply lined fear was always present and she really didn’t want to take any chances no matter how ridiculous it all sounded in her mind.

So she covered the mirrors at night just to be sure.

Satisfied that the mirrors were securely covered, she undressed and changed into her nightgown and climbed into bed. Her mind drifted back to her party.

It was such fun.

The few friends she had invited seemed to have fun tonight too. She did make a request that they not bring gifts and was surprised to find that they all had a different idea. Each person had a gift in hand as they entered. She frowned inwardly at that but smiled gracefully when she accepted them. She didn’t need gifts, she had everything she needed or wanted. But her friends all seemed to think that sixteen was an important year so she smiled and thanked them all.

Her old dorm-mates were there--Melisa and Cathryne. She had continued to stay friends with them even after she had moved out of the Ravenclaw dormitory. She didn’t have that many close friends and they seemed to take her moving in with Severus more easily than the rest of her house. They even brought along their new boyfriends, Stanley Cooper and Caps Reilly, two more Ravenclaws.

Their two boyfriends were nice enough but they didn’t come close to Brian.

Brian was so sweet, so kind. He had eyes that danced when he smiled and they were so deep brown they seemed black, almost as black as Severus’s. He was tall too, nearly as tall as her Guardian was. There were a few more similarities between the two but those were the more physical ones. Brian had dark curly hair that framed his head like a cloud and dressed without a care that one of his socks didn’t match the other.

He was carefree, attentive and very doting.

When it came out what had happened to her in her first years, she had been treated differently. Before, she was shy and lonely, too afraid to make any friends in fear of them finding out, but then people started to talk to her, telling her that she wasn’t alone and that she had friends that would be there to help. The feelings overwhelmed her at times and she would flee the Great Hall during meals when her emotions would be too much to bear.

It was during one of those times when Brian went after her.

He found her in a closet crying and he simply knelt down next to her and waited for her to stop. He didn’t try to touch her, to talk to her; he just sat there…waiting.

After that day, he wouldn’t stay away. He, like the others, feared the great Professor Snape but didn’t allow the man’s boisterous attitude to keep him away from her. That secured his place in her heart. If Brian dared to cross Severus just to talk to or to be with her then she dared to let him into heart.

And she did. She found herself starting to fall in love, for the first time in her life. Just the few kisses they shared tonight caused her to smile in the darkness.

Thanks the gods that Severus didn’t enter at one of those moments. He would have thrown a fit.

She was certain of that.

He was after all…her surrogate father.

A very protective father at that.


A/N’s:

Special thanks to Tia, Filodea and Arcee. I appreciate your time and grace to leave me a review. I owe you.

Red Writing Hood