Honeydukes was considered busy compared to the quiet, empty atmosphere of Potage’s Cauldron Shop. A lonely bell tinkled above Severus and Selena as they walked in, and Selena’s sweeping gaze stared around at the dust-covered store towards the cauldrons of every size and shape surrounding them.
“There are only seven different types of cauldrons within Britain, currently,” Severus explained, as the two slowly walked around the store. “Each cauldron has a different thickness or property that makes them differentiate from the other.”
He lifted a finger, and brushed it across the side of a pewter cauldron. Upon pulling his hand back, he pinched his fingers together, and frowned.
“Dust,” he muttered.
“What different types are there?” Selena asked, curious, and not having nearly as much experience as the man before her clearly did.
“Self-Stirring, Collapsible, Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver, and Solid Gold,” he replied, looking down at Selena briefly. “Each different component is good for certain potions. Our basic ones are the pewter cauldrons, simply because they are made of a sturdy metal, though we wouldn’t be able to brew the extremely difficult ones; they would burn a hole straight through ours.”
“Have you ever experimented with any of them?”
“Me?” he asked, and scoffed loudly. “They’re far too expensive.”
Briefly, Selena’s mind raced back to a time when Lily mentioned Severus’s terrible home life, and at this thought, she frowned. Meanwhile, Severus continued walking, not at all aware of the fact that Selena had stopped a few paces behind him.
“Would you ever consider talking to me about your life?” Selena asked quietly, making him stop, and turn towards her in question.
“There’s not much to tell,” he said, speaking with a dull drone. “I have a mother and a father. My father is a Muggle, my mother is a Pure Blood.”
“I didn’t mean that,” Selena whispered, and instantly Severus gave her a suspicious look, whilst Selena frowned. “What I meant was… what is your home life like?”
“Who told you?” he questioned, stare mutinous. “Don’t tell me Avery –“
“What are you talking about?” Selena demanded. “I didn’t say –“
“You said enough for me to understand,” his jaw hardened, and his eyes remained narrowed, awaiting her answer.
“Lily might have mentioned something…” Selena confessed hesitantly. “But, I don’t see how it matters. I want to know these things, Severus, and I’d much rather hear it from you.”
“That little –“
“Did you not hear a word I just said?”
“Of course I did! But, she had no right –“
“Maybe not,” Selena interjected, tone bitingly cold. “But, if you would’ve told me earlier, maybe she wouldn’t have let it slip.”
“Slip?!” he demanded, in a cold fury. “She didn’t just let this slip. She told you on purpose, and it sounds rather traitorous to me.”
“Maybe you should just tell me the real truth, then,” Selena stated calmly, biting back her anger. “All of it.”
Severus sighed angrily, and avoided her stare, choosing instead to examine the cauldrons before him. They gleamed dully in the dim light, suffering from the light film of dust.
YOU ARE READING
Heredity vs. Solidarity (S. Snape)
FanfictionSelena Burke has had the unfortunate luck of both parents’ passing due to the hands of Death Eaters. Being the last of her Pure Blood lineage, she is quickly becoming a target for the Death Eaters who are aware of her survival, and the longer she re...
