Silvanna Snape {Marauders}

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Noice :)

Silvanna spent the rest of the day alternating between trying her invisibility - she didn't get further than her elbows - practicing legillimency, and duelling with Evelyn or Colette. "I'm not actually supposed to do magic outside of school," said Silvanna warily to the latter.

Colette just shrugged. "We won't tell them. Now, again."

"Locomotor mortis," Silvanna tried. Colette blocked it easily and sent Silvanna stumbling back with a weak knockback jinx.

"Too slow. Again."

"Why are we doing this?" asked Silvanna. "When will I ever use this?" Colette frowned at her, and opened her mouth to say something, but the doors to the hall opened and Evelyn walked in.

"I think that's enough today, Colette, you can do more on Saturday," she said, striding across the room. "I think a little longer on invisibility, and then you can go? Or would you rather stay the week?"

"Oh, I've got work," said Silvanna. "During the week I help out at a village shop," she expanded at Evelyn's look of confusion.

"If you need money, we have it," Evelyn began.

"Oh, it gets me out the house, too," said Silvanna. "And my friend Jim works there, so I get to see him. Thank you, though."

"I'll have something deposited into your bank account anyway," said Evelyn. "Emergency funds." Why on earth did Silvanna need emergency funds? Who were these people? And for that matter-

"If you've got it to spare, I'd rather you gave it to my mum," said Silvanna.

Evelyn frowned at her, crossing her arms. Her angular brows made her look more severe than ever. "We cut off contact with your mother after she married your father."

"Because he's a muggle?" Silvanna challenged. She hated her dad, but still.

"Yes, because he was not selected by us and we thought he may dilute the gifts that ran through your mother's veins."

"What can my mum do?" asked Silvanna quickly.

"Nothing," said Evelyn truthfully. "But that's not to say her children wouldn't inherit any gifts she carried. And you did, look at you. It's just a shame we only learned about you when one of Eileen's friends from the States contacted us."

"And how did they know about us?" asked Silvanna, biting the inside of her cheek.

"You were seen at the Gobstones Chanpionship at Castelobruxo," said Evelyn, and Silvanna nodded. She remembered now, the teacher from Ilvermorny. She made a note to write it down to report back to Dumbledore in September.

*****

The sun was setting when Silvanna arrived home on Sunday evening, and she could hear her father thudding around upstairs, so she quickly grabbed a jacket and hurried out the door. Down the familiar streets and through the alleyway that fed into the field between Spinner's End and Crowpot. She could see someone underneath her tree, which surprised her, but upon closer inspection she saw it was Jim.

"Hello, you," he said fondly as she approached. "Where've you been?"

"Visiting a school friend," Silvanna lied. It slipped off her tongue like water off a leaf, as she settled down beside him, watching the red of the sky twist through the clouds.

"Already?" teased Jim, although it sounded half-hearted.

"You alright?" she asked tentatively, elbowing him lightly.

He didn't respond for a moment. "You ever kissed a boy, 'Vanna?"

Taken by surprise, it took Silvanna a minute to respond. "Yeah, I have."

"Me too." What? "Kissed boys, kissed girls. I tried to tell you, but I couldn't write it down."

"That's - cool," said Silvanna wearily. She knew about gay people, everyone knew about them. She just didn't know any, she supposed. "Don't you have to pick?"

Jim let out a small laugh. "Nah, I'm young, I'm free. I'll do what I want. Might kiss another boy, probably gonna kiss another girl."

"What makes you say that?" asked Silvanna.

"'Cos you've got a big fat crush on me," Silvanna threw a chunk of grass at him.

"Do not!"

"No?" asked Jim. Silvanna shook her head, smiling. "Will you kiss me, 'Vanna?"

"In the middle of a field?" she asked, quirking her eyebrows.

"Oh, I forgot you go to a posho school-" he began. Silvanna pressed her lips to his, just to shut him up. He smiled into their kiss, one hand finding her jaw, the other snaking round to her back to hold her up. "Still," he said when they broke apart, "Not very proper, is it? You busy?"

"What, right now? Yeah, I've got loads to do," said Silvanna with a teasing smile, leaning on his shoulder.

"Shuddup," Jim responded with a grin. "Fancy coming over to mine for a bit?" And how could Silvanna decline really, with the home she had waiting for her?

*****

She'd ended up staying the night at Jim's, and his bed was plenty big enough for them. "Don't worry, my mum never comes in here," he'd reassured her with a grin. They'd kissed some more at night, and he was much better than Daniel had been, but went no further, and Silvanna's mind still wandered. Mostly to what she'd learned at the Prince's, and she replayed it over and over in her head.

At one point, her legillimency slipped, and she ended up inside Jim's head. A whirlwind of rugby training, and worries about O-levels, and to her surprise a lot of thoughts about her. She hurriedly shut it down, hating it, and promising herself she'd try hard not to do it again without permission.

The next morning, Jim was up for rugby training at nine. Silvanna left at the same time as him, out his window and down the tree, before heading home to change for work at lunchtime.

As always, Marianne was lovely to Silvanna, and asked her loads of questions about her time at Hogwarts, to which Silvanna told her about her recent trip to Russia, before getting on with her work. She went home that night and practiced her invisibility, before grabbing some of the books Evelyn had said she had to memorise and heading back to her tree to meet Jim, as promised. She stayed that night at his too.