Always - Welcome to the Wizarding World

Part 27

After my visit from Draco, I decided that it was time for me to find my voice again. So I talked. I didn't tell everyone exactly what had happened, mind. Just why I had stopped talking, that my mother was dead. They needn't know any more than that. They didn't need to know why. Before I told people, everyone seemed to think my silence had been caused by them, that they had done something to upset me and that was why I wasn't talking to them. After explaining to them that they had done nothing wrong, everyone understood and said they felt incredibly sorry for me. I found it odd that people apologized when death's occurred. It's not like any of my friends had murdered my mother.  

I spoke to Zarah first. She already knew why I hadn't been talking, but I felt that I owed her my own explanation. I thanked her for not trying to force me to talk about everything before I was ready and for being so understanding. I then told her that I needed to speak to Snape. I wanted to know if he had found out anything else about my mother's death. If there was any evidence left behind that could lead us to Burke. Zarah let me go quickly and I rushed out of the common room to the potions classroom, where I knew Snape would be. 

I wasn't doing too badly in potions class. Of course, I could never exceed the talents of Harry or, Draco, actually, who both excelled extraordinarily in potions, but I think I was getting there. The Slytherins took potions with the Gryffindors, much to the disappointment of most of my house, but Zarah and I didn't mind. I liked getting to see my other friends. Snape, however, discouraged it. He would rather we didn't integrate between houses when working. Also, he did not seem particularly keen on Harry or Ron and tried to stop me from working with them both at all costs, I wasn't sure why.

Anyway, I made my way down to the potions classroom and as I walked down the corridor, I could hear angry muttering. The oak door had been left open a crack and I peeked through it. Snape was furiously mopping up some Lethe river water off the stone slab floor, which, I assumed, had been spilled by a first year attempting to concoct a forgetfulness potion. I remember learning that with Amos when he was teaching me at home. I pushed the door open and it screeched dreadfully. I winced at the noise and it attracted Severus' attention. He looked up and saw me standing in the doorway, not looking particularly impressed. Mind you, he never did. He balanced his mop against the cupboard nearest to him and made his way towards the front of the classroom.

"Radia, do come in. I trust you haven't lost your homework too; I've already had Mr Longbottom and Miss Brown come to me today with some pitiful excuses" he groaned, whilst marching over to another table and clearing up mistletoe berry juice off the counter. I shook my head. "No? Good, good. You know, I have already started one or two students onto more advanced potion brewing, I was thinking of adding you to the list". I nodded as enthusiastically as I could.  

"Yes, thank you, professor. I'm delighted to hear that you think I'm ready for that, but I didn't come to talk to you about potions". He looked up in surprise. I think, from time to time, Severus forgot I was his niece and not just another student.

"Oh, right. What did you come to talk to me about, then?" he asked me, not looking me in the eye. I knew that he found connecting to his emotions a lot harder than most people. I walked through the tables and chairs to stand next to him as he scrubbed vigorously at berry juice that had been burned into a cauldron.

"Well, sir, I would like to talk about my mother". He stopped scrubbing and looked up at me.

"Your mother?" he verified. I nodded. "What about her?" He put down the scrubber and started walking over to the cupboard, taking books out randomly and then flicking through them, only to put them down again and pick up another. 

"I want to know, has Professor Dumbledore given you any more information you could tell me about her death? Only, I feel like I'm being left in the dark" I said to him, over the noise of flipping pages and leather bound covers banging on the wooden shelves.

"Professor Dumbledore tells me only what I need to know and he has not told me much else" he replied, almost completely dismissing my question.

"Yes, but what has he told you? There must be something, the Ministry can't be that useless that they've found nothing at all". He gave a short burst of laughter at that, then went back to his normal self.

"You could not be more wrong. You see, the Ministry really is that useless. However, Dumbledore has told me something that might be of interest to you" he said. He stalked back around to the mistletoe berry juice and inspected the cauldron. "Your father, when he died, were you aware of any sort of will that he had left behind?" I shook my head.

"No, my mother told me that he never took it upon himself to write one. Why?" Snape picked up the scrubber again.

"Your mother lied. Your father's will was found in the attic, along with many of your father's possessions , the majority of which have been left to you. Including the house itself. He did not believe that Alice would still be alive when he had died, so he betrothed it to you, rather foolishly of my brother, I might add. He left some of his possessions for your mother and a few things for myself, but nothing significant. Alice clearly thought it best to hide his will, for a reason still unknown to us. But the house, his old broomstick, his wand and his fortune, he left it all to you". 

I stood there with my mouth agape in shock. All this time, my father had bequeathed me what he had left of his life and my mother took it upon herself to keep it from me! All I had received from that list was his old wand and that was only through her. Why had she lied to me for so long? Did she want to keep it all for herself?

"Did my mother say anything about this in her will?" I asked him as he wiped the remains of the juice off the cauldron. "Did they find anything that she had left to me from dad?" He shook his head.

"Not that we could find, no. Though, when the house was searched after your mother had died, there was a lot of paper burning in the fire along with coal, most of it turned to ash and none of it was retrieved. We thought this might have something to do with the Vow she made with Burke" he explained. Paper, why would she be burning paper in a coal fire? She must have been hiding something. "Do you have any other questions you would like to ask me, Radia? Only it has been a long morning and I have a final class of second years to prepare for this afternoon". I told him that I didn't and before letting me go, he led me over to the bookshelf and took out a battered blue book with the silver block title reading "Advanced Potion-Making" by Libatius Borage. He handed it to me with a slight smile, which was odd because I had never seen him smile properly before. "These are usually given to sixth years, but I believe you are ready to practice a few of the easier ones in this advanced book. I would suggest..." He opened the book to the second page and pointed at a potion. "The elixir to induce Euphoria. Not particularly difficult to brew, I have started Potter and Malfoy on the same one. If you have any questions, come to me or, if you're desperate, Malfoy" . My uncle then turned around to continue preparing for his next lesson. I walked out the door, looking down at the book.

"Thank you, sir" I thanked. He waved behind him, not looking back at me and I closed the door. 

I walked down the hallway reading through my new potions book. Sixth year? I had only been at the school for a year! I suppose I had been learning at home with Amos, but still! I wasn't sure I was ready for this. Although, it gave me a good excuse to find Harry, like Draco had suggested. I knew how talented he was at potions and, well, most subjects, actually. If I came to Harry with questions about the potion, I could ask him to tell me a bit about his parents's deaths. Harry was, of course, still very famous and I knew his story well, about how he had lived, fought against a curse, despite being only one year old. What I wanted to know was what happened after his parents had died. I needed as much advice as I could get to pull me through my grief.

I couldn't stop thinking about mum. She had hidden so much from me and was continuing to do so, even afterher death. What was it that she was trying so desperately to hide? There was noevidence, no leads as to why she would rather die than keep to her vow withBurke. Had it something to do with my father's will? Or hers? Or me?