A Little Bit of Love and Laughter

He arrived at the house later that day, dressed in black robes, dark hair slicked back, exactly as I had remembered. He came in without even a single glance at me and followed my mother into the kitchen.

“Severus,” she began. “I – I don’t know what to do; you’re the only one I trust enough with something like this. I swore I would never let her become involved in any of this.”

“There’s nothing that can be done, Evelyn,” he replied. “She’s a witch.”

“You must be able to do something, Severus. Please.” I hadn't ever heard anything like the desperation that currently coated my mother's voice.

He sighed. “I can do nothing more than watch over her at school.”

“So be it then.” She paused before calling me into the room, seemingly unaware that I had overheard their entire conversation. “Emily, this is Severus.”

I nodded. I had already known that, of course. His was not an easy face to forget.

Almost as if he sensed my general confusion, he waved his hand, forming the image of a family tree out of thin air.

"Severus was your father's cousin, dear," Mum informed me, pointed to his name in the floating picture. "He's been like an uncle to you since you were born."

He finally looked over at me. "And you will be under my supervision while attending Hogwarts."

"Um... Severus... sir... What exactly is Hogwarts?"

"It's a wizarding school," he replied and, holding up the parchment paper from this morning, continued, "And this – this letter means that you are now a part of it."

His words left me in a state of unadulterated shock. "So I'm... a witch?"

"Yes." The reply was short and very much to the point but it made my head spin. I was nauseated by even the sheer idea of magic being real.

"Emily," my mother began, but he cut her off saying solemnly, "I think it's time you told the girl the truth."

"The truth?" I parroted.

"Emily," she started again, taking a deep breath. "There are some things I haven't quite been honest with you about. To start, Oliver and your father were not killed in an on-site shooting, as I had said."

"Then what?" I asked, growing even more puzzled as I attempted to piece together all of this new information.

"Severus," she said, turning once again to him, and he began to speak.

"Several years ago, the Ministry of Magic, where they both worked, was raided by a gang of Death Eaters. They killed a total of sixty-four men and women that day, Oliver and Rupert being two of the many casualties." Even when talking about Oliver and my father, to whom he had always been a very close friend, Severus's voice sounded measured and uninflected.

"What's the Ministry of Magic?"

"It's the organization that regulates the magical world, creating the rules, laws, and guidelines by which wizards and witches are to abide," he explained. I could tell that he was getting annoyed by my many questions.

Turning to my mother, I demanded, "Why did you lie to me? For all these years, why did you keep the truth from me?"

"I didn't want you to be involved in all of this chaos if you didn't have to be. I wanted everything to be simpler for you."

"Did you not think I could handle the truth? Is that it?

Severus interjected, gently saying my mother's name as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Severus is going to take you to get everything you need, and then you'll be off to school," Mum said with a sad smile.

"I'll be back in August," he said, and with that, he disappeared into thin air.