#happy birthday more like KILL YOURSELF INSTANTLY POTION | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

deadlydollies13 · 7 years

Text

The Potion Master’s Grace Ch. 9

It was midnight of July 8th. Severus watched the clock as the hour hand hit the twelve. He couldn’t fall asleep, not until he wished her a happy birthday. He gently knocked on Grace’s bedroom and opened the door slightly. All he could see was her messy red hair splayed out over her pillow and the tiny black fluff ball that was her cat next to her. He walked in quietly and whispered, “Grace, are you up?” He heard Grace groan and roll over to turn on her lamp, “Well, I am now.” Her fiery curls went every which way as she sat up. She barely had her eyes open, but he could tell she wasn’t too happy about being woken up. “Sorry,” Severus had to hold back from laughing at the girl. She did look rather ridiculous. But he was unarmed and was afraid that if he annoyed her anymore, she’d grab her wand and turn him into stone. He sat on the edge of her bed, “I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday.” Grace looked up at him, her eyes bloodshot from being asleep, and then glanced at the clock on her phone. “Heyyy, it’s my birthday! Aw, thanks, Severus!” “Well, I know the past week has been pretty tough for you and-“ he was interrupted by the girl pulling him in for a hug. “Severus you’re really too sweet. Thank you so much,” her voice was low and a bit slurred from sleep. She really had a hard time keeping herself awake, barely enough so that her brain could comprehend what was going on. But when she found comfort once again being held by Severus, she immediately started to drift off to sleep. Severus felt Grace slowly slipping back into the dream world, “Okay Grace, go back to sleep.” He laid her back down, she mumbled something inaudible. He just rolled his eyes and tucked her back in, glad no one would ever learn that Severus Snape was being domesticated by a teenage girl and losing his sharp, bitter touch, “I’ll see you in a few hours, Grace.” He made his way to the door, just as he was about to leave, he caught Grace saying, “Night, dad.” He was stopped completely in his tracks. Perhaps he had heard her wrong, or the domestic bliss was just getting to his head and making him hear things. Still, just hearing her say it made his heart melt. “Goodnight, Gracie,” he whispered back, but she had already gone back to sleep.

Grace woke up the next morning, but when she opened her eyes, she saw darkness. Well, not complete darkness, more like something was covering her eyes, like a sticky note. She groaned, feeling too tired for silly games, and reached up to snatch the note from her forehead. The note read, in Luna’s swirly cursive, Happy Birthday, Best Friend! Grace’s mood was instantly uplifted. This would be the first of Grace’s birthdays that Luna actually got to spend with her. Years before, the Nobles’ had dragged Grace off for summer vacation, not so much as to celebrate Grace’s birthday, but so they could go off and drink and travel. Half of the time, their vacations were actually business trips for Mr. Noble. Grace looked around her room, where there were tiny objects hung and spread across the ceiling, reflecting the morning sun. When she reached for her glasses, she found another note. Putting them on, she saw that Luna had filled her room with crystals. Crystal garlands, crystal mobiles, crystals everywhere; just like Ravenclaw Tower. A little home away from home. Or is it, a little home away from home at your home? Cas was pawing at a dangling crystal and trying to play with it. Grace, afraid he’d break it or make a mess, let him down from the bed. She just didn’t realize the little fur ball sneak out of her room and probably make his way downstairs. She never really told Severus about her cat, but she had a feeling he knew about him. Plus, Luna was downstairs and she’d act as a buffer to make sure Severus didn’t kill Cas. Grace quickly got dressed, straightened her hair, and did her makeup. Thirty minutes, a new record since she usually took forty-five minutes in her lethargic state that was usually early school mornings at Hogwarts. She made her way day downstairs and she was hit with a strong smell of fruits and… chocolate! She practically tripped over herself running to the kitchen. “Happy birthday, Gracie!” she was met by Luna pouncing at her, wrapping her arms around her and doing a “happy dance.” “Ah! Yay, happy birthday to me!” Grace hugged back. It really had been amazing to not have to spend her birthday virtually alone; to have her best friend with her in person instead of texting or calling of Facetiming. And as a big bonus, now she had Severus to spend it with as well, who was now sitting at the table with The Daily Prophet, feeding Cas tiny pieces of banana. Well, thank Merlin he’s not annoyed by the cat. Luna got her attention back, “So, how’s it feel to be fifteen?” She now had Grace’s Polaroid —must have taken it from her room when she put the crystals in— and was taking candids of Grace. “Ummm… Well, y’know, I think I feel a wrinkle coming on,” she said jokingly. Severus snorted, “Oh, don’t even start, Grace.” As Grace sat down, he put the paper down. Finally realizing that her red curls were flattened down and hung as low as her waist, and her makeup was done, and she looked significantly older. Severus didn’t know why this scared him so much, but it did. He didn’t realize how much a kid could grow up literally overnight, “When did you go from fourteen to nineteen?” Grace, now used to Severus’ dry sense of humor and knew how to take his words, just laughed. Luna sat across from her and levitated their plates over—which was crepes with Nutella and strawberry and bananas— along with what seemingly looked like orange juice, but once Grace took a sip, realized Luna had spiked it with champagne, “Luna!” “What? Professor said it was okay!” “You’re fifteen, and it’s not as if you can get drunk on just one drink. Unless you’re a complete lightweight, and that’s just pitiful,” Severus added with a smirk. “Oh! Do you know what he did?” Grace said to Luna. “Twelve am this morning, I’m woken up by him!” Luna gave Severus a strange look, “For what?” “To be the first to say happy birthday, which was very sweet. But still! When’s your birthday, Severus? January 9th? Oh yeah, just you wait. I’m getting a bugle horn and everything!”

Halfway through breakfast, Grace’s phone began to ‘ding’ like crazy. She groaned, “Birthday texts.” She began to open them, replying to a few from those who meant the most to her, not just the ones who talked to her on her birthday or when they needed something. But one text, one with no name, especially caught her attention. Happy Birthday, Fireball. “Fireball” was what Grace was known as on the Quidditch pitch, for her fiery red hair and because of how fast she was. But who would call her that in a mysterious text? Who is this? She eagerly awaited a reply, her curiosity piqued. Her leg shaking under the table, trying to think of who the mystery person was. Finally, her phone dinged again. It’s Draco. Surprised you didn’t already have my number when I have yours, little red. Grace felt like she had been hit with a bludger; she almost dropped her phone, almost screamed, almost fell out of her seat. Instead, she just gasped, “Oh shit!” Both Luna and Severus went, “What’s wrong?” in a panicked tone. Grace’s eyes shot up to Luna’s, “Did you give Draco Malfoy my number?!” Now, Grace sounded panicked. “Uh, yes?” “Why?” “Because he asked me!” “When did he ask you? Why did he ask you?” “He asked me on the last day of school before we went to the platform!” “But we hate each other! We butt heads all the time!” “But you like him, Grace! Look at yourself, your face is all flushed, your pupils are practically dilated from just the sound of his name. And now you have his number, so there’s no excuse not to text him and get to know the real Draco. And, who knows, if he cared enough to say ‘Happy Birthday,’ maybe he actually-“ “Don’t say it, Luna Lovegood!” “-likes you back,” Luna crossed her arms with a smug look on her face as Grace slouched down in her chair in defeat. She tried to mumble out a final, “I don’t fancy Draco stupid Malfoy,” but it was no use. Severus really had a hard time not breaking into a fit of laughter, for Grace’s sake. She was already embarrassed enough. Actually, he felt kind of sorry for her, being ousted like that. So, he decided to help her get back at her friend, “Maybe you should follow your own advice, Miss Lovegood, and finally ask out Mr. Scamander?” Now Luna was the one with the flushed face, “How’d you know?” “Everyone knows. Just like everyone got the sense that Grace had feelings for Malfoy. And now both of those theories are proven.” Luna groaned and slouched in her seat, mirroring Grace. Severus smirked, “You girls are ridiculous.” Both said at the same time, “Oh, shut up.”

After breakfast, Severus used Grace and Luna’s nonstop chattering as a chance to slip into his office to grab Grace’s adoption forms. He didn’t know how to present them to her, or how she’d even react. But, she kept making future plans as if she was going to be around for a long time, so surely that meant that she wanted to stay, right? From the other room, he could hear the girls’ laughter, and he realized that Grace had always been a part of his life ever since coming to Hogwarts. He remembered the first time he had met the tiny Ravenclaw.

The new first years shuffled into the Great Hall in a jumbled line. Their wide eyes scanned every inch of the room in awe. Some knew what to expect, these were Purebloods or Half-bloods that had done their research on Hogwarts or had family and siblings who had come before them. The Muggle-borns were easy to pick out of the crowd; they were the ones who looked like deer in headlights, unable to believe what they were seeing. Severus, bored of seeing the same routine thing over and over again, made a game of it all. He’d try to determine each child’s house before the Sorting Hat made its choice. Most of the time, just by looking at them, he was right. He was especially good at picking out future snakes. “Hey, look, it’s ‘Loony’ Lovegood!” Severus’ eyes followed the voice to, of course, a second year Draco Malfoy. Young, but still a tosser. His friends found what he said funny, but he knew all the better what the Lovegood child had been through, and though he would never, ever show it or admit to it, he felt awfully bad for her and her father. But, Luna didn’t seem to mind at all. The platinum blonde was being distracted by a very tiny redheaded girl. Was this girl actually eleven? She was as tall as Professor Flitwick, well, maybe a bit taller. But her red hair fell down to her waist which exaggerated her tiny physique even more. She reminded him ever so much of a certain childhood friend of his that he cared deeply for, but lost. The redhead was going a mile-a-minute asking the Lovegood girl questions, and she happily answered all of them. Then, their attention was brought to the head table, where she asked who each person was. When the redhead’s eyes landed on Severus, their eyes met. Luna looked somewhat terrified, but the redhead smiled brightly and waved really quickly before McGonagall started calling names. Severus smiled slightly and gave a curt nod to the girl so to not be noticed by anyone else. Hufflepuff, maybe? Or who knows, maybe Slytherin? McGonagall called, “Lovegood, Luna,” and the blonde made her way to the stool and the Sorting Hat was plopped on her head. The Hat didn’t take long to finally say, “Ravenclaw!” It was the same house her father and mother had been in, and perhaps it would be good for the child after what she went through. The Ravenclaw table clapped and cheered, but she stopped before going to her seat. Instead, she stood nearby the stool and waited as the redhead girl was called up, “McClivert, Grace!” The tiniest First year Severus had ever seen, not just in height, but she was awfully skinny as well, a skinny that meant she hadn’t been fed properly. She slowly made her way up to the stool, and even had to give herself a tiny jump-boost to sit. The Sorting Hat was placed on her head, flattening down her red curls, “Hmmm…You’d do very well in Slytherin. But you’re thinking very fast… Tricky…” “Don’t put me in Slytherin! Put me in Ravenclaw! I’m smart and value learning and knowledge more than anything else,” Severus was in shock, not only because of such a thick Irish accent coming from such a tiny girl but because he never heard someone argue for Ravenclaw. She continued to argue with the Hat, using words Severus didn’t think was in an eleven-year old’s vocabulary. Maybe she did belong in Ravenclaw on account of her brains and wit, but the Hat wasn’t wrong, she was being awfully Slytherin-like. Finally, the Hat said, “Ravenclaw!” and the girl beamed and ran to Luna, taking her hand and walking to the Ravenclaw table together. Though, Severus had to admit he was almost a little disappointed.

In Potion’s class the next day, Grace had dragged Luna all the way up to the front of the class to sit front-and-center. Severus began with his usual speech he said every year to the new students, just to intimidate them enough so that they wouldn’t act like the dunderheads they were, but it ultimately left no lasting effect. While all of the other students looked scared, Grace was gazing around the room, interested in anything else but whatever Severus was saying. “Miss McClivert!” Grace’s head snapped toward him, her curls whipping in front of her face. “Yes, sir?” “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” Sure, Severus knew it was almost impossible for her, a Muggle-born, to know the answer. But after her row with the Sorting Hat the previous day, he wanted to test her knowledge to see if she could at least walk through it. For a moment, her eyes were wide and just stared at him, but not in fear, not in shock. No, her eyes weren’t even looking at him, they were looking at the board behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, but there was nothing written. But she saw something because her eyes were flicking back and forth as if she were reading. Finally, it was like a lightbulb went off and she threw open her textbook and began flipping through the pages. She scribbled what looked like nonsense on a piece of parchment, but with a pen, totally disregarding the quill, because that would take too long. She was flipping through the textbook pages so quickly, he was surprised she didn’t get a paper cut or tear the page. Severus didn’t know how long it took her, but it was incredibly fast. She held up her paper and flipped it around so Severus could see what she wrote; it was math. She had turned his question into a chemical equation, with properties he didn’t know the two ingredients had. She made something that was supposed to be abstractly learned and memorized into that of which was logical and could be proven using experimental evidence. “Draught of Living Death, sir,” she was so confident in her answer, as she should be. The other students just stared at her in shock, even Luna looked thoroughly surprised. Severus had a baffled look on his face as well. Slowly, Grace’s confidence began to fade, “It’s… just like chemistry. Right, sir?” He could hear a few students whisper, What’s chemistry? “Miss McClivert, go up to the board and redo the problem and explain why you did each step,” frankly, Severus was rather intrigued by her method. Should there be a simpler way to understand Potions— to teach it— he wanted to know. The Ravenclaw made her way up to the board, and standing on her tip-toes, wrote and explained every step. There were even some students who took notes, others just looked at her like she was crazy. But she so eloquently broke apart the potions recipe, and then another, and another, Severus just called out random potions that came to mind, and she managed to figure them all out just by flipping through her textbook pages and her Muggle methods. Later that day, Severus ran into a few of Grace’s professors and Dumbledore. “So, how was everybody’s first day with the First years?” Dumbledore asked with a twinkle in his eye. They all replied that things went smoothly, no one had died or got injured at least. Then Severus spoke up, “Miss McClivert, she’s too advanced for First Year Potions class, she needs to be transferred to a more advanced class. It’s only the first day and I feel that she’s already not being challenged enough.” “But, she’s a Muggle-born, how could she be so advanced in something she only just found out about?” asked Flitwick. “Chemistry. She used Muggle chemistry equations to put logic behind the potions ingredients. I named off completely random potions, some even that aren’t to be learned until the Third or Fourth year, and she solved them perfectly!” replied Severus. Dumbledore intervened, “But that is just the thing, my dear boy. There are certain potions, certain charms, certain spells, that are to be taught only to the appropriate age group. Ministry rules. Besides, it is best to keep her surrounded by her fellow First years.” “But, she’s too clever for that! Within a few years, with extra practice, she could have a Masters in Potion-making before she’s eighteen. Isn’t she that advanced in her other classes?” he looked to his colleagues, but they just shrugged. “She seemed to be on the same level as the rest of the class; asked plenty of questions as anyone else,” McGonagall said. “It’s because she’s still just a Muggle-born,” said Lupin, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. “Potions really doesn’t require magic like Transfiguration or Charms does. Like Severus said, she compares it to chemistry, making it easier for her to learn.” “Perhaps Severus could give the girl some extra Potions work. She’d still remain in the same class, but would learn a step ahead of everyone,” Minerva said to Dumbledore. He took a moment to contemplate, and then finally agreed. And since Grace’s second week of her First year, she was doing extra problems, extra essays, staying after to make potions alongside Severus and even help him with his personal potions when she was done her work. He also didn’t know that she had snatched an old copy of Advanced Potions Making from the closet, and he didn’t know that it was his own textbook from when he was a student that he had made notes inside and rewrote instructions and even made up his own spells. And Grace hadn’t known that the Half-Blood Prince whom the book belonged to was actually her favorite professor, the one who believed in her and had big expectations for her and gave her a chance in this new world.

And now, here was Severus again, giving her another chance at a family. Sure, they wouldn’t be a nuclear family, certainly not the Brady Bunch, but it was more than what Grace had now. “Severus, you didn’t have to get me anything. Really, you’ve given me more than I could ask for,” she held the manilla envelope, playing with the metal clasp that kept it shut. “Trust me, I haven’t done that much,” he gestured for her to open it, now his nerves were getting to him. Whatever was inside the envelope, it was light and flat, so obviously paper. But what could it have possibly been? And why is Luna recording me? “Why are you recording me?” “Oh, trust me, you’re going to want to remember this,” her best friend replied. “You know what it is?” Luna just nodded. Grace opened the envelope and pulled the papers out. For a few seconds, nothing registered. It was like she had never seen the word “Adoption” before, or never thought she’d see the word so close to her name. Finally, something clicked, her jaw dropped, and her eyes filled up with tears. She covered her mouth with her free hand and whispered, “Oh my God…” a phrase she only used on special occasions in which she was in so much shock that she forgot she was in the Wizarding World. Severus, of course, knew she crying out of pure happiness only by how her eyes squinted with glee and there was a laugh or two between each “Oh my God.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, “Grace, are you all right?” Instantly, she was up and had her arms wrapped around Severus. He hugged her back, which only caused more tears and more giggles. She finally got a hold of herself and looked at Severus with the most sincere look he had ever seen from her, “You have given me…” she choked on her words and while averting her eyes, bit her tongue so she didn’t break out into hysterics again. “Ever since I came here, you’ve given me more than I could ever ask for. And you are so kind to me— overly kind and caring— I’ve just- I’ve never had an adult care so much for me and it scared me! I thought, ‘This is all too good to be true, he’s going to get rid of me at the first chance!’ But now I know you’re not and that’s- you have no idea how grateful I am.” It was like the last bit of stone chipped away from Severus’ heart and he felt himself melt completely. He even felt a few tears threaten to form in his eyes before he pulled Grace close once more and hold her tight because no, he would not be giving her up. They were stuck with each other now until forever. It didn’t scare Severus anymore that he’d have a daughter. Hell, he wanted to shout it from the rooftops he was so happy! He was honored to be Grace’s father, and how every foster parent before him failed to see that, he’d never know. But in a selfish way, he was sort of glad they did, because if they hadn’t, he would have never gotten to this point. “I promise, I’m going to be the best daughter ever.” He couldn’t help it; he grinned and kissed the top of her head, “Gracie, you already are.” Both had forgotten that Luna was right there, still recording on Grace’s phone, until she sniffled and said, “Awww!”

#Harry Potter #modern au #original character #severus snape #Luna Lovegood #Draco Malfoy #draco malfoy x original character #harry potter au #the Potion masters grace

1 note · View note