The Last Horcrux

Braces, Puppies and Gnomes

Amanda's teeth stuck out more than a little bit, and she had a gap between the two front ones. So the second week in November, she took the Knight Bus home from Hogwarts. Sev took the day off from work and took her to London to see an orthodontist who had been recommended by Hermione's parents. Orthodontics was non-existent in the wizarding world, the thinking being that crooked teeth gave a face character. So the more progressive parents ventured into the Muggle world for this service.

Amanda had complained bitterly about her teeth, and how they added to her general unattractiveness (I'm fat, too many spots, my hair's not right, my nose is funny, look at my bushy eyebrows.) She could pick her appearance apart with a relentless focus that astounded Sev, who found her beautiful, and was mystified that she could not see it.

Remus took all this in stride, saying it was just the ups and down of a normal adolescence, and hadn't Sev seen it all those years he'd taught at Hogwarts? Well, Sev wasn't the kind of teacher that teenage girls came running to with their woes, and all the angst and drama that Amanda was going through felt like a foreign land. The only girl he'd ever been close to was Lily, and in Sev's memory she had sailed through early adolescence with a grace and confidence that was distinctly lacking in Amanda. Or maybe he had been too in love to notice the spots and hair problems that Amanda was so fixated on.

In any case, everyone agreed that Amanda needed braces, and so an appointment was made. Sev and Amanda took the floo to the Leaky Cauldron, then the tube to Highgate. Amanda sat beside him on the subway, looking about with interest. She was excited to be in London.

Sev sat beside a large rubber plant in a very clean and bright waiting room and read Muggle magazines for two hours while Amanda got her braces on. She came out and gave him a grin, glinting with metal. They were given a packet of rubber bands and a follow up appointment for the week after Christmas and they left the antiseptic atmosphere of the orthodontist's office for the busy streets of London.

********

Mr. Sev took Amanda to a nearby pub for sausage rolls and chips. Amanda enjoyed the food, but it felt strange eating with a mouthful of metal.

"How's school going?" he asked as they walked back to the tube.

Amanda didn't know what to say. She didn't want to complain about how lonely and isolated she felt.

"What's the matter?" he asked, looking at Amanda sharply. "Is anyone giving you a hard time?"

Amanda sighed. "I just don't.... fit in," she said.

"Neither did I,'' said Sev.

"These aren't going to help," she said, gesturing to her braces. The paracetamol they had given her in the orthodontist's office was starting to wear off. Her mouth hurt, and it felt all metallic and strange.

"No, I suppose not," said Sev. "But it will be worth it in the long run."

"That just seems like that's a really long time away," Amanda sighed.

"You know you're better than them, don't you?" Sev said, fiercely. "You're worth more than the lot of them, and in a few years, it'll be obvious."

"Not helping, actually, Mr. Sev," she told him.

He looked as if he had been struck. She instantly regretted her words, but she didn't know how to take them back.

From the moment Mr. Sev had rescued her from the Dark Lord, she had never doubted that he loved her. That love had made her feel protected and safe, as if nothing bad could ever reach her again.

But what happened when that love wasn't enough?

She reached for his hand, as she had ever since she had been a little girl, and they walked to the tube station together.