An Unlikely Savior ~ (Edit) COMPLETED

Chapter 61 ~ The Return

Both Hermione and Eileen jumped at the sudden crack of thunder behind them and turned to see Snape holding Odessa firmly by the arm. She had a suitcase in one hand. He frowned slightly at Hermione.

”Hermione? What are you doing here?” he asked her, his eyes shifting toward Eileen and the almost completed house.

”I came to give Eileen a bit of good news, then decided to help her with the house,” Hermione replied. Snape still hadn’t released Odessa, who stood there looking at the quarter house with puzzled eyes. Were they cutting it up for some reason?

”Good news?”

”Yes. Rita Skeeter is in Azkaban. She won’t be finishing her column.”

”In Azkaban? Why? I didn’t realize writing trash was a punishable offense,” Snape said dryly. Hermione couldn’t help grinning a little.

”It isn’t, but being an unregistered Animagus is. I told the Ministry,” Hermione replied. “I’ve known her secret since I was a fourth year.”

Both of Snape’s eyebrows rose. She’d actually kept a secret for that long? Amazing.

”I guess not all Gryffindors are compelled to spill their guts within hours of learning some interesting tidbit,” he said to her.

Hermione scowled at him.

”No, they aren’t and I think a ‘thank you’ is in order,” she replied tersely as Eileen tried not to smirk at her father’s comment. He was such a prat sometimes.

”Thank you.”

”You’re welcome.”

He eyed the house. He could see it in entirety, although the unplottable part was outlined in red. The color would disappear once the spell was completed.

”Eileen, how far did you get before your mother joined you?” he asked his daughter.

”I was halfway done,” she replied.

”Very good. Carry on,” he said, pulling Odessa forward, walking past the witches and into the house.

”Carry on,” Hermione mimicked, frowning at the door as it closed.

Eileen laughed.

Her mum was funny.

**********************************

Once inside, Snape took the suitcase from Odessa and set it down, then removed his traveling cloak and gloves, eyeing her as she stood there looking at him silently. He then picked up her suitcase, strode through the living room and down the hallway. She blinked after him.

After a moment, he walked back up the hall without the suitcase, stopping in the living room, looking at her.

”Well, take of your cloak and get in here,” he said imperiously.

Odessa removed her cloak and hung it on the coat rack. She walked into the living room and stood a few feet away from him.

”Just what do you think you were doing?” he asked her.

“I—I was leaving,” she said softly. “There’s going to be a scandal. I wanted to spare you that.”

Snape snorted.

”Anytime I’m mentioned publicly there’s some kind of scandal involved, real or imagined. You running off won’t change that,” he told her. “And as I said, you owe me money.”

”How did you find me?” Odessa asked him.

In answer, Snape pulled out his wand and flicked it in the air. A translucent map appeared, floating in front of him.

”You have a tracking spell on me?” Odessa asked him incredulously.

”Of course I do. As I said, you owe me money. I need to keep an eye on you.”

Odessa put her hands on her hips.

“That’s just sneaky, Severus,” she said.

He quirked an eyebrow at her.

”It’s not sneaky. It’s smart. If I didn’t have this map, you’d be gods know where right now and I’d be out quite a few Galleons,” he replied, flicking his wand at it again so it disappeared.

Odessa stared at him, then sighed, dropping her hands in resignation.

”You will be staying here for the time being,” Snape said.

”What? No, I can’t do that,” she told him.

”You can and you will, at least until the hubbub dies down,” the wizard said firmly.

”But, my flat. My things,” she said.

Snape made an aggravated noise.

”You weren’t worried about your flat or your things a few minutes ago when you were at King’s Cross station. Don’t try and use them as an excuse now. You will take the spare bedroom next to Eileen’s room,” he said with authority. “We will leave for work together tomorrow morning.”

He walked into the kitchen. Odessa followed him, watching as he took out ingredients and utensils to make tea.

”How long do you expect me to stay here?” she asked him as he set the pot up to boil.

”At least until you save enough money to get another flat. Living in Knockturn Alley is not conducive to your new life,” he answered.

”That’s going to take a few weeks,” she said.

Snape shrugged.

”I’ll suffer through it.”

”How much are you charging me?”

Snape looked up at her.

”Charging you? I’m not going to charge you, Odessa. Why would I do that when you will be saving your Galleons?”

Odessa sat down at the kitchen table.

”I can’t just live here for free. I wouldn’t feel comfortable,” she told him.

”Oh, you’ll feel comfortable. I’m not going to charge you money, but in exchange for staying here, you’ll take care of the house—and me,” he replied. “You’ll cook and clean.”

Snape was fully capable of cleaning the house and cooking his own meals, but he liked the domestic feel of a witch doing it. Eileen was very accommodating and always cooked his meals when she was home.

Odessa gave him a smile.

”I can live with that,” she said softly as he added boiling water to the tea and let it steep.

“You can and you will,” he replied as he strained the tea.

Odessa watched as he made two cups of tea. He brought one over to her and sat down at the table, his dark eyes resting on her.

”You have to stop running away from your past, Odessa,” he said softly. “You can’t escape it. It follows you everywhere. The best thing to do is accept it and live for today.”

”I wasn’t running from my past, Severus. I was trying to help you,” she replied.

”Help me how? By leaving me shorthanded at the shop?” he snapped at her.

”No, by keeping you out of the paper. You should have heard the things the reporters shouted at me. It was clear they already had decided what was going on. It was horrible.”

Snape frowned at her.

”Odessa, as I said, I’m used to scandal. You are no longer a prostitute. There is no real scandal. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“All right. I’m a former prostitute. You have to admit that’s scandal-worthy,” she said, taking a sip of tea. “Associating with me could be bad for business.”

Snape actually laughed. It was a cold laugh however.

”Odessa, it’s common knowledge I associated with Death Eaters. Actually, with Voldemort himself. Do you think you are anywhere close to being in that category? You’re not. You aren’t even in the running. I’m considered a murderer and my customer base is just fine. This isn’t going to have any effect on it. In fact, it could be good for business, the public coming to my shop to ogle us while browsing.—“

”Is money the only thing you think about, Severus?” Odessa asked him, smiling over her cup despite herself.

”It’s up there,” he replied with a smirk. “I’m just trying to ease your mind, Odessa. We’ll be fine, believe me. Things like this die down quickly. And I’m sure Rita’s arrest is going to supersede this situation by miles.”

Odessa’s brow furrowed.

”That woman outside, that’s Eileen’s mother?” she asked him.

“Yes.”

”She seems nice,” Odessa said. “And protective. She got Rita out of the way quickly, didn’t she?”

Snape nodded.

”Yes. She’s an exemplary witch, which is why I chose her to be Eileen’s mother. Despite her being a Gryffindor, she has qualities that I wanted in a child of my own.”

Odessa put her cup down, studying him.

”Chose her. That seems so cold, Severus. As if you picked her out of a lineup.”

”It wasn’t cold, Odessa. It was calculated. There’s a difference,” he replied, sipping his tea.

“Well, it seems your calculations were right. She certainly stood by you and Eileen. Imagine, sending Rita to Azkaban to keep you out of the papers,” she said softly.

”She did it for Eileen, not me,” Snape replied. “She wanted to spare her the embarrassment that would no doubt accompany such a situation. Still, it was quite the crafty move. Almost Slytherin-worthy.”

”Almost,” Odessa said with a smile, picking up her cup again.

*************************************

The house was now completely invisible to Hermione. Eileen could see it perfectly.

”Will you test it, mum?” Eileen asked her.

”Sure,” she replied, walking forward and through the invisible area.

Odessa started as a ghostly Hermione walked into the kitchen, through the table, wall and out the other side. Snape just watched her.

”What was that? A projection?” Odessa asked.

”No. That was Hermione testing the unplottable spell. The house is invisible and insubstantial to anyone not linked to it. Unless a person is magically linked or accompanied into the house by someone who can enter the premises, they won’t register it and pass through it as if it were open space,” he explained. “I will have your signature attached to the spell shortly.”

“That’s powerful magic. Eileen must be very gifted with charms,” she said.

”She is very accomplished but modest, thank the gods,” Snape responded. “If there is one thing in this world that I despise, it’s a show-off. Her mother was absolutely insufferable as a young student, spouting facts and figures at every turn. You couldn’t shut her off. She was brilliant, but annoying as hell.”

Odessa chuckled.

”You’re lucky Eileen didn’t get the ‘show-off’ gene, then,” she said.

”She had it, believe me. But I curbed it significantly by letting her know what an undesirable trait it was early on, and how much better it was to hide one’s knowledge and skill as much as possible. That way, no one would see her coming. Underestimation can serve as a powerful aid when facing adversaries. Unfortunately, in Eileen’s case, her abilities were recognized by others early on. First in Knockturn Alley, then at Hogwarts.”

”Hogwarts?” Odessa repeated.

She had attended the school, but being in Hufflepuff, she didn’t really get caught up in the glaring House rivalries of Slytherin and Gryffindor. First years of those houses were targets for the first few weeks. It was tradition. Ravenclaw was also relatively haze-free, the students preferring study to stupidity.

“The customary targeting of new students,” Snape said, shaking his head. “I had to go to the school. They were threatening to expel her for her use of advanced spell work. A first year finally gives older students what for and that was the result? It wasn’t going to happen, and didn’t.”

Snape’s eyes narrowed at the memory and Odessa could only imagine the blistering levels of hell he raised at the school in Eileen’s defense.

”She’s going to graduate in two years,” he said softly, his expression becoming somber at the thought. “Then, she’ll be off into the world. She won’t need me—“

”Of course, she’ll need you. Maybe not to take care of her any longer, but she’ll still need you, Severus. She loves you.”

Snape sat there miserably. He was so used to taking care of someone now. True, since Eileen started school at Hogwarts, he didn’t have to do as much for her, but there were the summers—when they worked together in the shop and Eileen cooked his meals, and they would talk about spells and potions and sometimes go abroad. All that would be coming to an end. He didn’t look forward to it.

“We took care of each other,” he said quietly. “My world is going to get smaller. I’ll be back at the point I was before I had Eileen.”

Odessa reached across the table and covered his hand.

”No. You’ll never go back to that, Severus. You’re a different man now. You’re loved,” she told him. His dark eyes met hers.

”Loved?” he asked her softly.

Odessa blinked at him, her face reddening.

”Yes, Eileen loves you,” she answered, then quickly rose from the table. “I’m going to check out my bedroom.”

Snape watched her walk away. He looked thoughtful. That had been a rather sudden departure. Almost as if Odessa was running away.

In the bedroom, Odessa chided herself for being so silly as she put sheets on the full-sized bed.

“I’ve got to get a hold on things. I can’t be in love with Severus. Even if I were, which I’m not, nothing’s going to come of it. He says it doesn’t matter what I was, but men care about those things. I’ve slept with nearly half of wizarding London. He couldn’t ever have any feelings for me other than pity. I know that,” she said to herself, trying to push her emotions down.

It was easier to do as a hooker than as a free witch. She had to keep emotion out of her life then, but—what did she have to protect her heart from now?

Hurt. Rejection. Pain.

Still the same things, things common to everyone. Odessa might think herself different from most people because of the life she had lived—

but she wasn’t that different at all.

**********************************

The next morning, Snape read the Daily Prophet with satisfaction as Odessa and Eileen both made breakfast, sharing the kitchen easily as they sliced tomatoes, fried bangers and made toast. Eileen noticed Odessa knew where everything was already.

Hm. Well, at least her father wouldn’t be alone. Odessa seemed to enjoy cooking and she knew her father liked to be cooked for. For the first time, Eileen didn’t feel guilty about leaving him to return to school.

“Well, I guess I’m not as important as Rita Skeeter seemed to think,” Snape said, closing the paper. “There is nothing about us at all, Odessa. On the other hand—“

He held up the paper for Eileen and Odessa to see. The headline read: Rita Skeeter Sent to Azkaban. Below it was an article about how the reporter was an unregistered Animagus and how she used that form to gather information. Beside the article was a photo of Rita screaming and struggling between two grimfaced Aurors.

Both Eileen and Odessa laughed.

”She certainly didn’t take it well,” Odessa said, shaking her head as Eileen put Snape’s plate before him. The wizard looked down at the bangers, tomatoes, toast and easy-over eggs appreciatively, then actually smiled at both Odessa and Eileen.

”Teamwork becomes you,” he said to the witches, who flushed with pleasure as they joined him. A full smile from Severus Snape was a rare thing indeed. And he had a rather nice smile, even if his teeth were a bit crooked.

As they ate their breakfasts, Eileen noticed how easily Odessa fit in. Actually, she brought quite a bit of brightness, because dad would talk to her and she smiled and laughed a lot. Normally, Eileen didn’t care for people smiling and laughing, but since meeting her mother, she’d become used to it and even did it more herself. It was a bit unsettling when she thought about it, but at least she didn’t go overboard. And she certainly didn’t plan on returning to school as a giggling idiot.

Still, her father obviously liked Odessa’s company outside the shop. Eileen idly wondered since Odessa wasn’t a prostitute any longer would her father take up with her? She wasn’t a bad sort, and had a hard life just as he did. She snuck a look at Odessa. She had her hair in a bun and had on her glasses in preparation for work. She still looked attractive in a mature professorish kind of way. Since they were going to be alone, anything could happen.

Eileen sort of hoped it would.

Now, if her father had brought a stranger into their lives, Eileen wouldn’t have been so accepting. Odessa was familiar. She’d known her all her life and even though she was a prostitute, she had always been nice. A strange, new witch would have had to go through some paces for Eileen to accept her, and they probably would have been nasty paces to test her suitability. Odessa didn’t have to worry about that.

Breakfast finished, everyone headed out, Eileen without her beloved Firebolt. Snape had been serious when he said it wouldn’t be returned until the end of the school year.

Odessa, Eileen and Snape Disapparated, and reappeared at Hogwarts.

Odessa leaned in and kissed Eileen’s cheek, then smoothed it gently, smiling at her.

”Have a good rest of term,” she said, then she looked across the grounds at the castle wistfully. “I haven’t seen Hogwarts in ages. I used to love being here.”

Snape didn’t doubt it. She was safe from her father when she attended school.

Eileen gave her a small smile back, then kissed Snape’s cheek.

”Bye, dad. See you in a couple of months,” she said, “and my Firebolt.”

Snape quirked an eyebrow at her.

”Provided you can stay out of trouble between now and then,” he said.

”I will. Bye,” Eileen said, unwarding the gate and walking through. She turned and looked back as Snape and Odessa linked arms. Odessa gave her a parting smile and Snape slightly inclined his head. Then they Disapparated with a crash of thunder, just as several more parents Apparated in with their children in tow. Eileen began to walk toward the castle.

As she mounted the rise, she saw students on the grounds, standing around talking and welcoming each other back. She set her face in a scowl and headed for the castle.

”Hey! Eileen! Eileen!”

Eileen looked toward the right to see Lily and Hugo running her way, followed by Alsop, who wore a bright smile. Rose waved. She was standing with James and Albus. Albus was looking at her with narrowed eyes and began walking toward her also.

James frowned.

”Come on,” he said to Rose, walking after his brother.

Eileen gasped as both Hugo and Lily collided with her in a group hug.

Merlin.

”Are you two trying to break my ribs?” she snarked at her smiling brother and cousin as they let her go.

Alsop skidded up breathlessly, his brown eyes washing over her almost greedily.

”Hey, Eileen. Nice to be free, isn’t it?” he asked her with a smile.

”Yeah, it is. My dad had me stacking books for days. I never did finish them,” she said.

”Must have been a lot of books,” Alsop replied, his eyes affectionate. He would have kissed her if they were alone. Still, she had kissed him after the ball. He hoped that meant something between them had changed. He was going to ask her to be his girlfriend again, and soon.

“You have no idea. My father has so many books, it’s insane,” Eileen replied, just as Albus pushed by Alsop and stood face to face with her, his eyes narrowed.

”Hey!” Alsop hissed at him. “What are you doing, Albus?”

”I challenge you to a duel, Eileen. For what you did to my grandmother. It was dirty,” he growled at Eileen, who steadily met his gaze.

“Albus, what are you doing?” Alsop said, pushing him aside.

”Doing what you should all be doing. Making sure Eileen is paid back for what she did to Grandmum,” he told his brother, pushing him back.

”She was put on punishment,” Hugo said, trying to defend his sister. Rose and James walked up.

“She deserves more than sitting on her bum in the house,” Albus said, staring at Eileen again, his eyes hard. “Unless she’s too cowardly to actually face someone with a wand instead of sneaking up on them.”

Rose gawked at Albus. What was going on here? Was he trying to duel Eileen?

”Albus, what are you—“

”Rose, stay out of it, all right? Everyone stay out of it. I have a right to ask for a duel because of what she did. I demand satisfaction.”

Everyone was quiet then, and Albus looked at Eileen and said, “Well?”

“When?” was her one-word answer.

”Now,” he breathed.

”Fine,” the witch said, pulling out her wand.

”Eileen, no!” Alsop said. “If you hurt him, you’re going to get in trouble.”

Eileen’s brown eyes shifted toward Alsop. They were glittering. When Eileen’s eyes glittered, that definitely meant trouble.

”I won’t use anything deadly,” she said in a soft voice. “I know I have the advantage.”

”We’ll see about that,” Albus said through gritted teeth. “Count off!”

Everyone moved out of the way as both Eileen and Albus drew their wands, held them upright, turned away from each other and marched twenty paces, counting down their steps loudly.

When they finished and turned, the duel would begin.

”James, do something,” Lily said to her brother, tears in her eyes.

”I can’t, Lily. Albus is determined to give her what for,” he replied as Alsop scowled at him.

”You KNEW about this, James?” he asked him.

James shrugged.

”I can’t believe you knew about this and didn’t tell me,” Alsop said to him.

”And what would you have done but get into a fight with him? He still would have called her out, Alsop. You know how Albus is when he gets something in his head,” James retorted.

Suddenly, two voices rang out in chorus—

”TWENTY!”

*******************************************
A/N: Happy Mother’s Day, everyone, including those who care for children not their own. Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 48. It was pretty much a normal day for me, no fanfare or presents, but I’m glad I’ve survived this long. :) I would have loved a piece of fruitcake and a cold glass of milk to celebrate. Didn’t have the funds to get a little one. But I did make myself some pigs feet. Lol. I know. Your mouths are watering :::snickers::: Thanks for reading.