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Both Sides	By : ccino49 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 10429 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 24
- 25
- 26
I do not own any of the characters or places from the Harry Potter books or films. They all belong to J.K. Rowling. All that is mine is Lou and the plot. I am not making any money from the writing of this story.

Both Sides.

CH 25 Please write to me

Lou placed the cage carefully on the table in front of the two men. �His name�s Validus, isn�t he beautiful? He�s my familiar, he can show me things. I saw Sev �Professor Snape coming up behind me. Validus showed me. Isn�t he clever?�
�Huh. That�s what familiars are supposed to do.� Said a voice to her left. Ron stood and left the room. �Show off.� He muttered as he passed her.
At that same moment Severus fastened the cuff to Lou�s ankle and all the excitement drained from her.
�Right, I�ll take him upstairs then.� She said demurely.
Validus let out a loud hoot. Lou looked at him and opened the cage door. He immediately hopped out and took off into the hall.
The next thing they heard was a yowl of pain as Validus pecked harshly at Ron Weasley�s head.
The owl flew back and landed proudly on Lou�s shoulder with a lock of red hair in his beak, sending her the image of what he�d done.
�Err, thanks Validus, but you�ll get me into trouble if you keep pecking everyone that doesn�t like me, and you�ll probably end up with a worn down beak.� She told him, all the while stroking his feathers and making him hoot softly with pleasure.
�That�s some bird.� Remus told her. �He�s very protective over you too, remind me to watch my manners when he�s around.�
�He won�t do it again Mr Lupin, will you Validus? He didn�t know he wasn�t supposed to do that. I�ll take him upstairs, did his stand and food arrive?�

�The elf took them up to your room just before you arrived.� Kingsley told her. �He�s a truly magnificent bird Miss Black, take care of him.�
�I will. Oh please call me Lou, it�s much easier and it�s what I�m used to.�
She left to take Validus upstairs, and Severus and Albus told them what had taken place that day.
�So she holds a title, and all the wealth and trappings that go with it? I hope we�re not going to end up with a little madam on out hands. The last thing we need is a female version of Malfoy.�
�I hardly think so Kingsley, she�s too well grounded for that.� Remus said.

�That is so true gentlemen. She was most put out when the Gringott�s goblin repeatedly called her by her full name and title. She is now, Lady Louhi Melaina Nilsen-Black, but still insists on being called Lou.� Albus told them with a chuckle. The poor girl fainted when she discovered the total amount of Galleons in her vaults. Apparently she has also inherited from her mothers side. It makes Sirius� fortune look like a pittance.�
After a cup of tea, Severus went to see Lou, return her documents and see how she was faring.
Validus was sitting on his perch, watching Moon magically fasten the swing to the ceiling.
�You may want to retrieve your satchel, I have your papers here. How are you feeling?�

�Other than wishing that Ron and the others didn�t hate me when I haven�t done anything to them, a bit overwhelmed, it�s still a lot to take in. To go from nothing to �all that, how would you feel?�

�Probably the same, Lou, I need to tell you something.�
She turned to face him, his tone of voice told her it was something she wouldn�t like. �Go on.� She said, holding her breath.
�I have to leave for a while.�

�Oh. How �how long, where, why?�
�I have personal affairs to deal with, I should hopefully be back in a week �or two. Lupin will take over your lessons, when he is not available, Shacklebolt or Tonk�s will stand in.�
Lou didn�t know what to say, she couldn�t exactly sak him not to go, but she desperately wanted him to stay. �But you will come back, you wont leave me here on my own?�
�Lou, you won�t be on your own, you have to learn to get along without me constantly by your side.�
�But �you�re my friend.�
�Yes, but you need more than just me Lou, you need to broaden your circle of friends, make new ones. When you begin at Hogwarts, I cannot spend time with you as I have been doing, it would not be appropriate as your Professor.�

He was finding this more difficult than he�d expected. He needed to try and break away from her somehow without hurting her too much. For the past week, his mark had been burning, he�d tried desperately to ignore it. He told Albus that he would soon have to answer the call to the Dark Lords side.
�Severus you cannot, you know what will happen.�

�Headmaster, if I don�t I will go insane, the pain will worsen over time until I eventually go mad, you know that.�
�Better mad, than dead Severus.�
�I disagree Headmaster. Perhaps I shall be lucky and it will be quick. It is Lou that concerns me now. The girl has attached herself to me, and I have to admit, I feel a certain �empathy toward her. Your troop of Griffindors are hardly forthcoming with her, she needs friends, friends her own age. I have decided to visit Prince Manor for a while, I may return before the start of term, it depends how things go. If I can make the meetings and bring you any information, I shall do so. It is best Lou thinks I am going away for a short while, it will give her time to adjust, then she can be told that I shan�t be returning.�
�It will break her heart Severus, she thinks the world of you.�

�She�s a teenager Headmaster, she�ll get over it. Just because she had a hard time in the past, does not mean that she cannot move forward.�

�And you, will you get over her?�

Severus scowled and paced the room, refusing to meet the Headmasters gaze head on. �I have nothing to get over. I am old enough to be her father for Merlin�s sake, I felt sorry for her, nothing more.�
Two days after he spoke with Lou, Severus was packed and ready to leave.

He was paler than usual, the strain beginning to tell on his face. His arm burned painfully, Lou was at his side constantly, asking where he was going, why did he need to go, would he write to her?
Lou, I am returning to my family home.�

�But you can�t, it�s dangerous. You told me it wasn�t safe at Spinners End any more.�

�Not Spinners End Lou, that was only somewhere I used for �well never mind why. I have several other homes, I may visit one, or several of them. You are to work hard at your lessons, do not dwell on me. I mean it Lou, live for yourself now.�
Pressing something into her hand, he turned and walked out the front door of number 12 without looking back.
Lou stood in the hall, her arms hung limply by her sides as she stared at the door. �He didn�t even say see ya, or goodbye for now.� She knew something wasn�t right, she didn�t know what it was, but she knew it all the same. She felt something in her grip and lifted her hand, it was the proximity chain, he�d given it to her. Why did he do that of he was coming back in a week or two?
Ginny found her ten minutes later, still in the hall, watching the door as tears leaked from her eyes, to trickle down her cheeks.
Unlike the others, Ginny had never really criticized Lou, she only kept her distance because the others did and she thought perhaps they knew something she didn�t.

Lou?� She asked, laying a hand on the younger girls shoulder. �What�s wrong?�
�He�s gone, I don�t think �I don�t know. He said he�d come back, but I don�t know if he will.�
�Who�s gone?�

�Se �Professor Snape. He�s the only friend I�ve got and he left.�
�Ron said you�ve got an owl.�
�Yeah, but it�s not the same.�

Ginny laughed. �Silly, I didn�t mean for a friend, you can write to the Professor, your owl will take the letter to him.�

�Validus, take letters?�

�Yes, did no one tell you? Owls are how we send and receive our mail.�
�I didn�t know, but I don�t know where he�s gone, I don�t have an address.�
�It doesn�t matter, that the beauty of owl post. You tell the owl who the letter is for, and they always seem to know where to go.�

Ginny gave her a brief smile and went to the kitchen, leaving Lou to think about what she�d said.
Lou ran up the stairs as fast as her leg would allow. Once in her room she looked at the owl. �Validus, can you deliver letters?�
The bird looked at her as if to say, well what do you think. He sent her an image of him carrying an important looking document.
�The thing is, I don�t know where Severus will be, but Ginny said you�d be able to find him, is that true?�
He hooted loudly, nodding his head as he did so. It pleased him to see her smile a little.
She sat at her desk and took a piece of parchment, then she looked for a pen. All she could find were bottles of ink and quills. �Feathers? Why do they have to write with blasted feathers?� Shoving them back in the drawer, she headed back down the stairs.
�Mr Lupin, have you got a pen I could borrow please?�
He passed her a quill from his inside pocket and she sighed. �No a pen, I don�t know how to write with a feather.�
�Then it is about time you learned. Pens are not allowed at Hogwarts, only quills, in fact you would be hard put to find a muggle pen for sale in the wizarding world Lou.�
Remus decided that today�s lesson would consist of teaching her how to write with quill and ink. �I believe you have something called fountain pens in muggle England, well this is pretty much the same, you dip the tip into the ink, shake off the excess, and write. Simple as that.�
An hour later, she�d written an essay, but ink was smudged and smeared across the parchment. Her hands and fingers were ink stained and she even had some on her face. �This is stupid, it looks like a five year old has written this. Can I go to the supermarket? They sell pens.�
�No you cannot. Now try again.�
For that week, the first hour of each lesson was spent with Lou practicing her skills with a quill. She�d always had a neat hand, but the quill was making it look like a childish scrawl. By day four, she�d got the hang of it and even managed to keep the ink from her fingers.
�Much better Lou. See, you can do anything if you put your mind to it. As a reward, is there anything special you would like to learn today?�

�Yeah, That newspaper you all read, The Prophet? Well it said something about dementeroids, and I was wondering how you get rid of them. What do they do anyway?�
�They are called Dementors. What they do Lou, is draw every happy though or feeling you have ever had until you are left with nothing but sadness and despair. They feed from those feelings. If you are really unlucky, they kiss you.�

�Urgh. Kiss, that�s disgusting. There was a picture, there ugly.�

�Not the type of kiss you are thinking of Lou. A Dementors kiss is different. It sucks out your soul, leaving you as nothing but an empty shell.�
�That�s bad news, so how do you kill em?�

�No one knows how to kill a Dementor, but you can repel them with a charm. It�s called the Patronus charm. Not an easy spell to cast, but once you can, the Dementors cannot touch you. Harry had a lot of bother with them in his third year at Hogwarts. Once he learned the Patronus charm, they left him alone. Would you like to try?�

�Too right. I mean, yes please.�
He smiled at her. �Very well, you need to find your happiest memory, it must be a strong memory or it won�t work. Can you do that?�

She shook her head. �Maybe we should do something else instead Mr Lupin.�
�What, not one happy memory, surely there is something. A spectacular Christmas, or a special birthday present, anything that made you truly happy.�
�I want to do something else, I don�t want to do a Patronus.�
He sat down next to her. �Lou, do you want to talk about it, if something�s bothering you, maybe I can help.�
�No you can�t. I told Severus. Severus knows, but he left, I haven�t got a memory Mr Lupin, I can�t do the spell. I�m sorry.�
�He told me he took you flying, that you really enjoyed it.�

�Oh I did. Have you seen him fly? He�s magnificent, like a �that�s a memory isn�t it? A happy one, sort of. Can I use that?�
�If it is strong, then yes, you can. Shall we try?�
�Lou cheered up and stood away from the desk. She�d not realised she had any happy memories, but now she realised she had several, they were recent, but they were still good memories. �Right, what do I do?�
�First you need to learn the incantation. Say after me; �Expecto Patronum�.�
�Excepto Petronumum.�
�No.� He laughed. �Expecto Patronum.�
Lou got it right on her second attempt and he taught her the wand movement. �Now grab your memory Lou, concentrate on it and say the words, hold your wand like I showed you.�
Then she thought about the first time she�d seen Severus flying on that broom of his, how he�d looked to her. Her heart lurched that day, the sight of him up in the sky like a magnificent bird. �Expecto Patronum.� She yelled.

A bright white light shot from her wand, raced round the room and back into the wand. �Wow. What was that?�

�That, was a fantastic first attempt. Want to try again?�

�Yeah.� She concentrated again on her memory and shouted; �Expecto Patronum.�
Again the bright light shot forth, but this time instead of shooting round the classroom, it stopped and took form, it looked familiar to Lou but before she had chance to make it out, it drew back into her wand again.
�Hey, I did it again. Did it look to you like at was trying to be something? Is it supposed to do that?�

Remus� face was very serious when he looked at her. �Lou, did you not see what it was?�

�No it was too quick. What�s it supposed to look like?�

�Like the thing that makes you feel most safe, the thing you love most in the world, or that you feel loves you.�

�Ooo. What was mine?� She asked excitedly.
�Severus.�
She looked round expectantly. �Where? Is he back?� She asked, heading for the door.
�No Lou. Your Patronus, it was Severus.�
�Oh. Does that mean I did good?�
�It means lessons are over for today. You did very well, close the door on your way out.� He told her.
Lou was sent from the classroom feeling that she�d done something terribly wrong, only she didn�t know what. �Another to add to my list of never be friends.� She thought sadly.
In her room she looked at Validus, sleeping contentedly on his perch. She thought of Severus and sat at her desk.

Dear Severus

I found out the other day that owls deliver letters. Ginny told me. Yes, she spoke to me. Yesterday she said �hi� as she passed me on the stairs. That�s a good thing isn�t it? Anyway, I�ve been learning to use a quill instead of a pen. This is written with a quill. Are you pleased with me? Today Mr Lupin taught me how to do Expecto Patronum. It took me two goes but I did it. My memory was you the first time I ever saw you fly. I think Mr Lupin is mad at me. When he saw my Patronus he told me to leave the room. He said it was you. Why is he angry at me?

Are you very busy where you are? I suppose you must be or you wouldn�t be there.

I�m being good and when Mrs Weasley can�t come here, I do the cooking. I even feed the Griffindors and no, I didn�t poison them. (ha ha) They still keep their distance from me, but I don�t think they hate me as much as they did. Maybe they�ll even like me sometime.

If you get a chance, please write to me. I miss you lots.
Your friend
Lou

She rolled up the scroll and took it to the owl. �Validus, do you think you can find Severus and give him this. I don�t know where he lives.�
The owl took the scroll in his beak and hopped to the windowsill.
�Thanks. He might want to write back to me so you�ll probably have to stay there while he does. Is that alright?�
The owl nodded and flew off as soon as she opened the window.

He returned the following day without a reply.
Lou was disappointed but decided that Severus was probably very busy. �Was he pleased to see you? Did he look okay?�
Validus sent her an image of Severus sitting on a large grassed area, basking in the sunshine and doing nothing in particular.
She felt a bit hurt that he didn�t reply when he clearly did have time. But no matter, maybe he would answer her next one. Maybe he�d been busy and was tired, that�s why he didn�t answer this time.
2 days later.

Dear Severus

How are you? Still busy? Nothing different is happening here, people come and go, but they all seem busy like you and don�t really have time to stop and talk.

The Gryffindors are still avoiding me, I wish they wouldn�t.

I went in the garden today, the sun was shining and I pulled out lots of weeds. There�s actualy some flowers in there, would you believe it? I miss talking to you, please write to me so I know you haven�t forgotten me. (Just a joke) It would be nice to get a letter though, just to say your okay.
Your friend
Lou

Validus returned, sans reply.

Dear Severus

Guess what? Tonk�s said she�d take me to muggle London to do some shopping for clothes and stuff. How cool is that? Me going shopping. It seems like ages since you and me went to the supermarket. At least this time I wont have to haggle over the price. Guess what else. I have one of those plastic cards for my muggle bank account. It�s called a debit card, it only lets me spend the money I have, not borrow it like a credit card.

Will you have time to write to me do you think? I miss you.
Your friend
Lou

Validus returned empty beaked as usual.

Dear Severus

Are you alright? You never write and let me know. Why wont you write? Me and Tonk�s went shopping. It was fun and I bought loads of stuff I don�t think you�ll approve of. But I like it and Tonk�s said it�s the latest thing. She really is a fun person, I�d like her as a friend. I even bought some high heels, I just need to be able to walk in them. We had a great time, Tonk�s is really funny. Did you know she�s a metamotphmagus. (Not sure I�ve spelt that right.) She can change how she looks and make her hair go all different colours. It�s really cool.

The Headmaster wants to up my magic, but I said no. If I get stuck to the ceiling again, I don�t want anyone but you there to hold me on the toilet. You made me laugh and it stopped me floating. Besides, you�ve already seen my scars, I would hate for anyone else to see them.

I heard Mr Lupin tell Molly that there�s another meeting soon. Are you coming to it? I�ll wait up for you and we can talk.

Mr Lupin doesn�t talk to me much now, only to give me lessons. I don�t know why he doesn�t and I daren�t ask him, he might get mad.

Please write hello on the back of this letter and send it back with Validus. He�ll wait if you tell him to, he�s very good.
Your friend
Lou

Validus returned without the letter and Lou cried.

Lou overheard Harry, Hermione and Ron discussing the next meeting, it was tonight. She was overjoyed because Severus was bound to show up. Lou determined to stay downstairs all evening, that�s why he didn�t bother writing back, he was waiting to talk to her personally. She should have realised that sooner.

TBC
- 24
- 25
- 26
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