Descendant of Merlin Book 3: Fear and Family (Severus Snape)

Merlin Manor

"I'm so glad Dumbledore was willing to give you the time off for our trip to Venice," I told Severus as we arranged our luggage in the living room of our house. We'd charmed a couple of unimpressive looking suitcases to hold whatever we thought we would need for our week's stay in the city without roads. Severus was adjusting his sleeves.

"You've already owled him to thank him," he said in a bored tone and took the handles of both suitcases. I sighed at his lack of enthusiasm and changed into my animagus. My emerald feathers flashed as I gripped Severus' shoulders. Then we vanished in a whoosh of flames.

We reappeared in the front courtyard of Merlin Manor. The mansion stood three stories tall with a turret on each end that had long ago been fitted as bedrooms with private libraries in them. The front courtyard was small. A stone bench had split years ago and had been neglected. Ivy threatened to overtake the fountain that had not flowed in half a decade. It was as if the worse my parent's relationship got, the more the house and grounds were let go. Even the shrubbery had grown wild and woody with no flowers in sight.

My father opened the double doors leading into the house and came rushing out like a ball of energy. He immediately took the luggage from Severus and headed back up the stairs, telling us how happy he was to have us and asking us to excuse the mess the place was in.

"There's so much that needs doing to get the place to its former glory, but I'll get to it all in time," he was saying as I began following him up the front steps. I noticed Severus wasn't beside me and turned back to see he was still standing where we'd appeared and was looking at the house with a decidedly sour expression. I frowned and went back to him.

"Severus, are you coming?" I asked gently. He snapped his attention to me.

"You grew up here?" he asked sharply. I took a step back at his tone, my defenses automatically coming up.

"I know it needs some work, but it wasn't always like this. It just hasn't been maintained recently," I defended trying not to feel offended. Severus looked at me as if I had lost my mind before realization slowly fell across his face. He shook his head with a low bewildered chuckle.

"You are truly a rare witch," he said and took to the steps at the front door. I followed, not really understanding what had just taken place in his mind.

Remus was inside the entry with several charmed dusters and pans trying to rid the room of the layer of dust that had settled on it. It seemed my mother had stopped caring altogether about the place after my dad left. Remus wore a cloth over his nose and an expression of deep concentration. It took a moment before he cancelled the charm with a defeated sigh and the objects clattered noisily to the floor.

"Hello Isabella," he greeted me with a smile. I hugged him warmly.

"It's always good to see you Remus. How are things going?" I asked politely. He scowled.

"I can't seem to rid this place of all the bloody dust. It's murder on my sense of smell when the moon comes 'round. I can't stop sneezing for five minutes," he complained. I gave a sympathetic laugh and patted his cheek.

"You'll get it. The place is old. It's hard to keep the dust at bay," I told him.

"You want to get a pot of tea going while I show these two their room?" My dad suggested to Remus. He nodded and headed off to the kitchen while my father flicked his wand at our luggage. It levitated about six inches off the floor and followed us as we made our way through the Manor to the main staircase that led up to the bedrooms.