Knowledge is Power

Chapter 30

"When did you get a bird," Eileen Prince asked her son.
"Isn't he a pretty one," she crooned sweetly to Nightshade who blinked at her consideringly.
"Yes he is!"
"His name is Nightshade," Severus said.
"I sort of ended up with him...he was someone else's but took to me I suppose," he explained, telling his mother a half truth rather than an outright lie.

Severus always spent Christmas day with his Mum in his childhood home at Spinner's End. Severus never would go to his grandfather's for Christmas. Once he became an adult, he swore he'd never set foot willingly in that house again and as no one could make him do it unwillingly...he was free of the place. He didn't care if it was far nicer. The memories it held for him were far worse. Though his childhood home was rundown, the times he had there were ones he treasured. All but that final day, sitting on the floor of the sitting room when his Mum's friend Ruth came in screaming that Tobias was dead. Though he was only six years old at the time, the memory was still unfortunately quite sharp and clear.

Today there was a cheery Christmas tree in that room, though, and the floor around it was piled high with gifts. Some from his mum to him and the rest from him to her.
//Do we get Christmas turkey? I smell something yummy,// Nightshade thought as Eileen handed Severus a glass of eggnog.

//You smell Mum's stuffing and yes it has turkey in it. It is delicious! It's one of my favorite dishes in the world, and there is an entire turkey too so you'll have plenty to eat,// Severus replied.
Then aloud to his mother, "Thanks, Mum."
He took a drink of the eggnog as Eileen waved her wand at a spot in the far wall, causing cheerful holiday music to issue forth.

Mother and Son cheerfully opened gifts to the sound of Jingle Bells while Nightshade watched from the back of the old sofa on the other side of the room. Eileen loved her pink fuzzy sweater, new black leather purse and rose quartz potion bottles, and though nothing could compare to the quartz and obsidian wand from Mag, Severus did like the new black leather boots, velvet cloak and dragon tooth quill from his mum quite a lot.
//Do we eat now,// Nightshade asked as the two rose from where they'd been sitting beside the tree to open their gifts.

"These bottles are so beautiful," Eileen was saying, still holding one of the ornately carved gemstone potion bottles in her hand.
"Not only are they useful, but they're going to make such nice room decor!"
//We socialize for a bit first,// Severus told Nightshade.
//Just hang in there. Something tells me you won't starve,//

"I thought you'd like the look of them," he replied aloud to his Mum.
//Don't count on it,// Nightshade said.
//It smells so good and it feels as though I haven't eaten in ages.//

Severus knew the owl had eaten an ample breakfast, because it had come off of his plate, so he ignored him. He and Eileen came to sit on the sofa, glasses of eggnog in hand.
"Hello there," she crooned to Nightshade.
He sat on the back of the sofa just behind her and began idly running his beak through her hair.
//What on earth are you doing,// Severus demanded.
He'd never seen the owl touch anyone's hair.
//It's such a pretty color, almost like my feathers," he commented of Eileen's white locks.

"Ah he likes my hair because it looks like him," Eileen observed with a pleased chuckle.
"He's such a nice boy!"
Turning her attention full to Severus then, her expression became more grave.
"How have things been," she asked gently.
Severus shrugged.
"I suppose as expected. Don't worry, nothing specific to concern yourself over."
His Mum knew the general situation, but he never gave her specific details. She knew it was safer that way, but it did hinder certain lines of conversation at family gatherings like this.

"How are things with you," he asked.
"Good. I'm selling potions to three mail order catalogs now so it keeps me busy brewing.
"Three," Severus asked.
He knew she was selling to two mail order magical supply companies, but not that she'd added a third.
"A new place, Warlocks And Wormwood wrote asking me to supply them, and of course I felt honored so...now I have three," Eileen explained with a chuckle.

Mother and son chatted about this and that until they'd finished their eggnog.
"Well let's eat! I don't know about you, but I'm starving, " Eileen said, and Nightshade shot off the back of the sofa and flew eagerly toward the food smell in the kitchen.
Eileen laughed, shaking her head.
"It's as if he understood me, but owls are very smart, so he probably did."
"Yes," Severus said dryly.
"He's far too smart."

An hour later, mother, son and owl were stuffed to the gills with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry and pie.
"I don't care what anyone says about how great the food at Hogwarts is," Severus said, leaning contentedly back in his chair.
"There's nothing like my Mummy's cooking!"

//Hell yeah,// Nightshade agreed from where he sat on the back of Severus's chair deep in a food coma.
As always Eileen wrapped half of the food up for Severus to take back with him. She took the rest with her and the two would enjoy leftovers for the rest of the week.

All was peaceful as it should be on Christmas until the next day when Severus got word of the break in at the Ministry. Normally this would not be a thing to concern him personally, but it involved the Department of Mysteries specifically and that was where Heather and Raislen WestCraven worked. One of the employees was either injured or killed, the report was unclear, and it sent sharp shards of fear and worry through Severus.

//Of course it's stupid of me to care,// he told Nightshade angrily.
//They'd not care were it me. They've made that very clear.//
//Ah that's not true, Prof. They're mad and disappointed but they care about you a lot regardless. They've even said as much as if it wasn't already apparent.//

//As I've said before, they had a bloody funny way of showing it,// Severus replied.
But he decided to go and see if the two were alright personally. Of course he wasn't going to the Ministry, but he still remembered very clearly how to get to WestCraven manor.