Darkly Bound

29

I stood on the bottom step of Gringott's gloating. It had been there, every bit of it. All the money I'd won fair and square, despite what I'd been accused of, at Spooky Adrianna's Vampire party. I checked the time on the clock tower. Olivia would be arriving any minute. I walked a short way down the street looking in the shop windows. It wasn't long before I heard her calling out.

"I thought I'd never get away from those children. Look, at this. They've given me a list of things they expect me to buy for them."

I laughed. "I'm sure you have no intention of indulging them."

"Certainly not!" she said and stuffed the list deep into a pocket. "You didn't come all this way to shop for sweets and toys, did you?"

"I might have. That sounds like fun. More fun than looking for robes."

She looked scandalized. "You are not one of those people who don't care about what they wear, are you? Please say no! I just can not tolerate people who'll just throw on the first thing they come across."

I decided not to mention the party. She was already yards ahead of me. I pushed through the crowded, narrow street to catch up with her and met her at a corner.

"This way, just down here." She pointed down the next street which was wider, cleaner and less crowded. As we made our way down it I noticed that the shops that lined the street here were not the dark, quirky shops I'd been poking through while waiting for her, but elegant salons which catered to a different, far more upscale clientele.

"Olivia, this is a little rich for my blood." I was very thankful that the goblin who had ambled off with my poker winnings had been honest.

"It can't hurt to look, can it?" She pushed me into a very elegant shop. In minutes she was surrounded by fawning attendants who, to my great embarrassment, she sent my way. "Why don't you make some suggestions, dear," she instructed a snooty looking witch who had a tape measure around her neck and a pincushion on the brim of her hat. "Any color except black. My friend can not tolerate black. She gets headache just looking at it."

I laughed and was instantly stuck by a pin by yet another assistant who was busily attacking a heap of satin. It turned out that this sort of shopping was nearly as much fun as shopping for toys and sweets.

"Not that purple either, it's too funereal." Olivia circled, sipping tea. "Why won't you try red? With your coloring--"

"No! Not red. Nothing even red-ish--" I paused when something caught my eye. One of the assistants was bringing yet another pile of fabric, "unless it's that." It was a shimmering deep crimson, the color of claret in candlelight. Olivia watched attentively as the assistants bustled around with the fitting. She beamed when they stepped away.

"Oh that's perfect! Look! She turned me towards the full length mirror. I guarantee he--" I narrowed my eyes at her but she went on, never missing a beat, "--they won't be able to take their eyes off you!"

We left the shop, my new Gringott's account considerably emptier.

"There, you see? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Olivia asked brightly.

"No, not bad at all. However," I stopped just outside the shop door, "I'm afraid to ask you just what you think you're up to. You had something particular in mind in there."

"Up to? Why do I have to be 'up to' something? You're the one who asked me to help you shop."

I sighed in defeat. "Yes, you're right. What now? Toys and sweets?" I asked hopefully.

"No, sorry. Come in here. You'll like this."

The shop was extraordinary. Nothing it sold seemed to have any useful purpose at all, yet everything in it seemed to be able to explain on its own why it should be purchased immediately and without question.

"Oh my," I said warily. "Why do I get the impression that this is not one of Marcus' favorites?"

She turned to me with a bright smile holding a bottle of some exotic scent. "Marcus knows better than to say a word. What do you think of this?" She held the bottle under my nose. My eyes welled up and I sneezed violently.

"No. I suppose not." She replaced the bottle.

"What is that?" I said, wiping my face.

"I don't know. I wasn't going to try it!" She laughed, "You should buy it and ask you-know-who to analyze it for us."

"Oh yes, and can you imagine what you-know-who would have to say about that?"

She looked wistful. "Probably 'Do you think I have time for this twaddle? I have far better things to do!' Which he does, doesn't he?"

"I doubt it," I answered absently while fingering some rather pretty ornaments.

She burst out laughing.

"What? It would only cut into the time he uses to think up ways to annoy people. Or think up ways people annoy him. I can't imagine what it must've been like growing up with him around the house. Was he born like that? Your poor mother. He probably bit her while nursing."

She laughed and shook her head. "He was ten when I was born. I never really saw him much. He was away at school most of the time. When he was home he spent most of his time avoiding our father. Well actually they both spent their time avoiding each other."

"That must have been pleasant."

"We ignored it. As long as I'd been around, they always circled each other like cats. Juliana, she's my oldest sister, she said it was because of that idiotic duel. I was just a baby when that happened."

"Duel? What duel?"

"He never told you? No, well he wouldn't. He was nearly due to go to Hogwarts. Father was not happy about that, Hogwarts was mother's idea. Father thought Severus 'had talent' so he decided to do a little coaching on his own."

"Oh dear." I remembered the confrontation I had witnessed.

"I do remember that if you handed him a book, any book, he would lose himself in it completely. I think he has probably memorized everything he's ever read and Father had quite a large private collection to pass on. So the lessons started."

"How did Severus take to this?"

"I'm sure he loved it. What he didn't like was being shown off like a little poppet. That's what finally set him off. Father had some of his fancy friends over. After they drank half the cellar they decided some entertainment was in order."

"He was with them during all this?"

"Oh yes, always! Learning the family ways, don't you know! They decided on a duel. Sort of a going-away test I suppose, father against son. That would make it fair. A supposedly mature, experienced wizard up against his own son who's just gotten his first wand and been given a stack of dusty books of dodgy spells."

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was. Now remember, I got this from Juliana, and I don't know where she heard it, but it makes sense. You can imagine what happened, can't you?" She paused. "Have you ever watched my brother duel?"

"No, but there was one at school a few years ago that's legendary."

"I would imagine that in every single duel he sees his own father at the receiving end."

"What happened?"

"As you'd expect, Father knocked him over before he even managed to set his wand straight. It was what happened afterwards that made the difference. You can see it, can't you? All the bravado and hilarity, 'Don't feel bad, son, should'a seen me after my first ha ha ha.' Well anyone else might have left it at that, but not Severus."

"No, not Severus." I could see it. I could see it as if it was happening in front of me right then and there.

"He stood up, and said something like "I've got it now, Father. Thank you. I'm ready if you are." In that tone of voice. Even then. A room full of half drunk grown men and an eleven year old kid had them spinning around to face him. Juliana said all the candles in the room went out, but she's very a very dramatic storyteller. They tried to laugh him out of it, but he wouldn't budge. Well what was Daddy to do then? He had to face him again or look like a complete fool or an utter coward. So, they went at it again. But that time, it wasn't Severus on the floor when it was over. I have an uncle who swears it was a very different boy who walked out of that room than the one who walked into it. He says it was like watching a lamp being switched on."

I looked at her in dismay. "I wonder if it wasn't more like watching a lamp being switched off."

She looked away, clearly upset and mumbled, "Yes, well. Neither of them could wait for the Hogwarts Express to leave at the end of the summer, I know that much."

"Where was your mother through all of this? She'd never have allowed that!"

"Taking care of me, I suppose. And my sisters. Probably in town. I don't remember much about her either. I was only five when she died. I was pretty much raised by nannies and governesses until I went to school myself."

"But you're so--I mean--don't take this the wrong way, but--"

She laughed. "You mean I'm so normal? As opposed to my brother, who had the advantage of two parents and is a borderline psychotic?"

"Something like that, yes. Sorry." I had to laugh.

"Well you seen to get along with him alright, despite the psychosis."

"Ah, well. I have training."

She made a snorting sound and moved over to look at a shelf full of interesting looking books.

"What was that for?"

She turned and looked at me like I was speaking a different language. "That was 'for' what is going on between you and my brother. Your relationship. Although I have a strong feeling that word is going to set off a whole catalog of objections."

I didn't know what to say. "There's no-- I don't think-- There's something you don't know."

"There! You've just passed the test. Full marks." She glared at me, a family trait, I decided. "If I didn't know better I'd think the two of you had been separated at birth." She stalked off toward a far corner leaving me fingering a tiny jeweled dagger I'd been looking at. I gave her a few minutes then followed. "I don't how to explain this. He was going-- It wasn't supposed to happen! We haven't quite figured it out yet." As I was speaking I realized how stupid I sounded.

"Figured it out?" she laughed in what sounded like disbelief. "What's to figure out? And, what exactly wasn't supposed to happen?"

"Olivia!"

"Oh that. Well it never is, is it?"

"What? No! Oh, look." I pulled up my sleeve and showed her the long, fine scar that remained from the cut made during the binding spell. "Do you know what that is? Your brother has one exactly like it."

She looked at the scar. "It doesn't look like something you should be teaching at Hogwarts."

As hard as I tried I couldn't keep from laughing at that. "No, not this term anyway. That's what got Severus out of trouble with his old friends."

"And got you tossed into Azkaban."

"No, that was just me being stupid."

"You just felt like turning someone inside-out for fun?"

"No, I lost my temper. I said it was stupid! It shouldn't have happened."

"Oh we're back to that again. 'It shouldn't have happened'. For a seer you rely rather heavily on hindsight."

"You didn't see what they did! He's your brother! Wouldn't you have?"

"I might have, but as you say, he's my brother." She gave me a smug look. "Why can't you just admit it? Someone had taken something of yours and you wanted it back. Someone had hurt someone of yours and you wanted to hurt them back!"

I knew I was blushing furiously. She'd backed me into a corner. The worst part was, of course, that she was right. "Remember I said you were the normal one?"

"Yes," she wasn't even trying to hide her laughter now.

"I take that back." I practically spat the words at her. "Your whole damned family is crazy."

"Fair enough."

There was only one way out of this. I looked her in the eye. "But..." I drew that little word out as long as I could, "can you keep a secret? We've booked a holiday. To figure things out."

She abruptly stopped laughing. "Have you?"

"Yes, It took some convincing, but in the end--"

"Oh that's wonderful!" She was genuinely happy and I felt genuinely awful about what I was about to do. "Where are you going?"

"Sweden! We've even hired a Volvo. We're going to take it 'round the fjords."

The smile dimmed, but only slightly. "There aren't any fjords in Sweden."

"Oh. How disappointing. Now what are we going to do with the Volvo?"

She took a step closer to me and whispered, "What's a Volvo?"

"It's a kind of-- you don't know?"

"It sounds vulgar."

"Well it is Swedish after all."

A shadow passed over her face as the absurdity finally sank in. "You are not going to Sweden! And there is no such thing as a Volvo!"

I finally let myself laugh out loud. "No, but there is such a thing as Volvo. It's a car--a Muggle car. Nothing vulgar about them at all, unless you have a sense of style."

She burst into a gale of giggles. I thought she was going to start choking. "Olivia! Stop it! People are looking at us."

"I can't help it, I'm sorry." she gasped. "I just have this picture...."

"Come on, we'd better get out of here. Let's go get a coffee." I dragged her out of the shop.

"Oh, yes! That's just what we need." she croaked. "Nice strong black coffee. Something to settle us down."

The cafe was crowded. Olivia had forgiven me for Sweden and I was considering forgiving her for her assault. The only thing that was putting a damper on the day was a feeling I couldn't shake of an impending storm.

Someone was shouting, why would anyone be shouting? "Sorry?" I blinked. Olivia was staring at me with a worried look.

"What's going on? You just stopped talking. In the middle of a sentence--you were gone!"

"I did?" I knew I had, I could feel it coming again. I looked towards her and tried to focus. "Severus is here."

"Here?" she started looking around the cafe, "That's what's upsetting you? What's he done?"

"No, not here, here. Somewhere near. Something's wrong." The terrible feeling continued to grow.

"You look awful," she said.

"I feel awful."

"You can't tell what this is about?"

"No, but it's bad. I've never felt him this upset. Angry, yes, but this isn't angry. I can't describe this." I reached out trying to see if I could find him. Marcus. He was with Marcus.

"Where is Marcus' office? It's not far from here, is it?"

"It's the weekend Why would they be at his office?"

"You wouldn't believe what those two can get up to--" as soon as the words left my mouth I felt a shock of realization.

"What is it?" She looked terrified.

"How much do you know about my daughter?" I looked into her eyes.

She looked away quickly. "I'm sorry. It was my fault. Don't blame Severus, he tried, he really did. I dragged it out of him. He was furious with himself afterward. You know how he gets."

I put my hand out and took hers, in a hopefully reassuring gesture. "I asked him to stop. I begged him keep Marcus out of it."

"Oh, Melpomene, no."

"Olivia, what am I going to do now? After all these years. I've always had at least--"

She'd gone completely ashen. "You don't know what he's found."

"Yes," I whispered, grasping her hand tightly, "yes, I'm sure I do."