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deadlydollies13 · 8 years ago

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The Potion Master’s Grace ch. 14

Draco dropped Grace off at Snape Manor, walked her to the front door, and kissed her goodnight. The act still made her heart race, but it was becoming much easier. She had expected to find Severus either waiting by the door like an over-protective father or occupying his mind in his potions lab. Instead, she found him with Luna in the living room playing Wizard Chess. They were so engulfed in their game, they hadn’t even noticed she had come home.

“Hey, I’m home and not dead~!” she called out from the archway leading into the living room. Luna gasped, moved her piece, “Checkmate!” and ran to Grace, grabbing her and nearly knocking her over. “Oh geez!” Grace said catching herself. Luna began flooding her with questions, “So how was it? Where’d you go? Was he a gentleman? Did you have fun? Are you dating now? Did he kiss you? I want every detail!” “Relax! Let me breathe for a second. It was amazing; we went to this fancy-ass restaurant I can’t even pronounce the name of; yes, Draco was a perfect gentleman; yes, we are dating now; and yes, he kissed me.” That’s when Luna absolutely lost it, “He kissed you? Like, what kind of kiss? Was there tongue?” “I’m not going to kiss and tell, Luna! That’s scandalous,” but Severus looked at her questioningly and she knew that if she didn’t spill— just a little— he’d get it out of her somehow. “It was just a simple kiss. That’s it. Lasted maybe two seconds. Now, I’m going to bed.”

Luna slept with Grace in her room that night. They’d always done it when they had sleepovers, but it was a girl thing because they didn’t think Draco and Rolf shared a bed, let alone covers, when they had sleepovers. It was a good thing, too, that Luna was next to Grace when her lungs flared up again, and she started wheezing and thrashing in her sleep. It was Luna who woke her up and calmed her down, who adjusted Grace’s oxygen tank so her breathing would regulate itself, and who waited until the next morning to tell Severus what had happened. Of course, Severus ordered Grace bedrest, or at least she was allowed to go from her room to the couch if she so chose to. Severus called Grace’s doctor, and she said that something like this was normal, and to have Grace do close to nothing for the rest of the remaining recovery period. And Severus took it all too seriously. Afraid she was getting sick, he sanitized everything in the house. He had Missy bring her meals to her on the couch on a tray so she wouldn’t have to get up. Luna didn’t discourage him, either, for she played nurse for Grace and only made it seem like Grace was made of glass even more. So there Grace sat, on the couch, in her pajamas wrapped in a blanket (it was rather chilly for a summer day), with her laptop on the coffee table playing Gilmore Girls, her phone in hand, and munching on a ham and cheese sandwich. Compared to the previous night, it was the most bored she’s ever been. Even the sandwich tasted boring, and there was a vile of green liquid on the tray that she knew was a potion, but still didn’t want anything to do with it. “I want coffee,” Grace grumbled out, geared towards no one, in particular, just the Universe. “No coffee,” Severus replied from behind her. Grace jumped, grabbing her chest and over-dramatizing the fact that she was startled, “Don’t do that! Are you sure you’re not a vampire because you seriously came from nowhere!” “Oh, please. Has Draco Owled to yet today?” “Okay, 1. it’s called a text message, and I’m, seriously getting you a phone as soon as I get off this couch. 2. no he hasn’t because like a normal teenager, he’ll probably sleep at least until ten unlike me, whose father has kept her up since seven.” “I don’t need a phone, Grace.” “Uh, yes you do. In case of emergencies! It’s 2016, dad. You need a phone.” “Not going to argue with you. Drink that potion.” “No, I don’t like how they make my lungs feel. It always feels like I’m taking in too much air and they’re gonna pop and-“ her phone dinged and Draco’s name, now with about five heart emojis, popped up on her phone screen. Grace couldn’t have scrambled for her phone faster.

Severus rolled his eyes, “Teenagers,” and walked away towards his potions lab. “Hey, you didn’t get stuck with me, you chose me!” Grace called after him. “Yes, but I somehow got Luna along with you.” Just as he walked out of the room, Luna walked past him with a smirk on her face, “Draco?” “Mhm,” Grace wasn’t really paying attention anymore, she was directing her focus to Draco.

Draco: Hey, Little Red. Grace: Hey. :) Draco: And how are you, this crappy London day? Grace: Lungs flared up again last night. :/ Confined to the couch. Grace: You? Draco: Just woke up. And everything okay? You need anything? Grace: I’m fine, not dying. Grace: A chocolate milkshake sounds amazing at the moment, though. >.< Draco: Uncle Sev has you downing some crappy potion with healthy food? Grace: A bland ham and cheese sandwich and some mysterious vile of green liquid I refuse to take. Draco: I think it’s the only way the man knows how to deal with illness. Draco: He doesn’t deal well with it, his mom was very sick and I think he kinda blames it on himself. Where is he now? Grace: Lab. I’m sure trying to find a cure for asthma. XD Grace: Where are you? Draco: Headed to my car to get you a chocolate milkshake. Grace: OMG I was only kinda half joking! Draco: Too late! Draco: I’m getting my sick girlfriend whatever her heart desires! <3 Draco: Gtg, driving. Grace: Yeah, be safe. And thank you so much. You’re seriously the best. <3

“What did Draco say?” Luna asked. She was browsing through Cosmopolitan Magazine. “He was just asking if I needed anything. I accidentally got him to go get me a chocolate milkshake, though,” she shrugged. “You’ve got him whipped already. You should basically get married now and give up on life and-“ “You done?” Grace cut her off. “Mhm,” she smirked into her magazine. Luna had always had a love for fashion. Her aunt, the sister of her mother, lived in New York City and worked at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, so she was Luna’s hookup for the latest fashion trends in the states. Though, Grace had never met Luna’s American aunt. She knew she lived here in Britain until Luna’s mother died, and maybe the grief was too much to stay with the family. Luna didn't even have photos of her aunt. “Your dad went down to his lab?” “Yeah, I guess so. He’s all worried about me, but then occupies himself in the lab.” Luna was silent for a moment, “I think it’s really hard for Severus to see you like this. He’s new to the parenting thing, remember that. And to see you sick like this and not be able to do anything about it must be killing him.” Grace nodded, she had never thought about that. She remembered reading in The Fault in Our Stars how Hazel Grace’s cancer affected her parents, how having a kid bite it from cancer was almost as worse from having cancer yourself. She also remembered that for the past four years, it had been Luna who took care of Grace when this sort of stuff happened. She had been a nurturer and a nurse to Grace when she needed it because the Nobles’ really didn’t want anything to do with her. She was there for Grace when she had no one else.

Draco showed up with Grace’s milkshake and even got her a few bag of crisps. “Oh my god, you’re the best, Dray,” she acted as if he had just given her a million galleons. “Yeah, yeah, Little Red. How are you feeling?” “Besides loved?” she batted her eyelashes. “Better than before. I feel fine, but dad wants me to stay on the couch.” “Sucks. My poor Gracie,” Draco said in a babyish tone. “You guys are already gross and gushy it’s been a day!” Luna stuck her tongue out. “Oh shush. Have you talked to Rolf, Luna?” Luna’s cheeks turned red and she threw a crisp at him, mumbling something that sounded like, “maybe.” Draco couldn’t stay long, so he kissed Grace goodbye and waved to Luna as she made fake gagging noises. They sat and ate crisps and watched Netflix until the bags were empty. Severus checked on Grace a few times, but she told him nothing really changed in her condition. She was still wheezing, but she wasn’t in pain at least. “Have you ever gone up into the attic?” Luna asked, looking towards the stairs. “I didn’t know there was an attic,” Grace said as she licked the salt and vinegar flavoring off her fingers. “Of course there’s an attic! It’s an old, creepy manor.” “Ah, yes. I’m sure the attic is very haunted and full of possessed objects,” she replied sarcastically. “Let’s go see it!” “Dad said I have to stay here!” “Your dad’s making a potion! Now c’mon!” Luna grabbed Grace’s hand and pulled her up. Grace pulled her oxygen tank behind her as she followed Luna upstairs, down the hall to the old door that's paint was chipping off and was locked tight. Luna took her wand out of her boot and pointed at the door knob, “Alohomora.” The door creaked open to a narrow and steep winding staircase. “You go first,” Luna said to Grace. “I’ll be right behind you in case you get winded and faint.” Grace nodded, slinging her tank on her shoulder and beginning her ascendance to the attic. The attic was very dark, stale, and dusty. Both girls covered their mouths and noses with their shirt collars to filter the air a bit and cast the Lumos charm. With some light shed, the attic wasn't so scary. It was filled with what looked like furniture and paintings covered in white sheets. There were trunks stacked on top of each other, some looked like they were from centuries ago, along with books that had inches of dust on top of them. How upsetting it was to see such fine books forgotten in a dusty attic. On one side of the room were cardboard boxes, each labeled with a black permanent marker. Labels like, “Mother’s Things,” “School Books,” and most intriguing of all, “Do Not Open,” written in all capital letters and underlined three times. Well, of course, that meant the girls had to open it. The girls sat on the floor and opened the box. Inside were vinyl records, cassette tapes and a walkman player, old photographs, a few books, and some letters. On closer inspection, they realized the items belonged to Severus, but a much younger Severus. They were about to start rummaging the box when, “Girls!” Severus was standing at the top of the spiral staircase with the Lumos charm cast on his wand. Both girls jumped and yelped; Luna dropped her wand, and out of instinct, Grace aimed her wand and yelled, “Expelliarmus!” but with no light, she misaimed at the ceiling and only some dust fell. Severus, exasperated, sighed, “Downstairs. Now.” Grace once again slung her tank over her shoulder and Luna picked up the box and made their way carefully down the stairs. “Look at you both!” They were covered in dust and coughing to get it out of their lungs. “Grace, I told you to stay put! Of all things, what made you think to go into a dusty attic was a good idea?” Grace hung her head in shame, “I’m sorry, dad.” Severus wasn’t yelling at her, but he also had never spoken to her that way. And with a flick of a switch, hearing her say “dad” and looking so much smaller than she was, he wasn’t annoyed anymore. He dusted the dust out of her red hair, “And we obviously need to work on your dueling skills, because that was a pathetic display of the Expelliarmus charm, and no daughter of mine is going to be known as the witch who can’t even fight in the dark.” That put a smile on her face. “You too, Luna. You didn’t even try, in fact, you dropped your wand. And you know, that box says ‘Do Not Open’ for a reason.” “If you wanted no one to open it you should’ve written, ‘Please Open and Release Venomous Snakes,’” she replied. Severus finally gave up. They went downstairs; the girls sat on the floor in front of the couch with the box between them, Severus sitting in his chair. “Once we open this box, everything we know about your dad could change forever,” Luna said, staring at the layer of dust on the flaps of the box. Grace narrowed her eyes, “I highly doubt it,” and she threw open the flaps, sending dust particles into the air only to settle back down inside the box. “Oh dear Merlin,” Severus propped his head up on his fist. “If you didn’t want anyone to find anything, you should’ve burned it,” Luna said. “Never thought I’d have two girls raiding my attic.” Grace started with the many vinyl records and cassette tapes, “Can’t believe you had good taste in music.” “What is that supposed to mean?” “Means that you seem like a fun-sucking prude,” that earned Luna a couch pillow to the head, which she returned in laughter. “Oh. My. God,” Grace didn’t use that phrase unless it was the of the utmost seriousness, and this was certainly serious. She held up the ABBA Greatest Hits cassette tape, “Please tell me this is someone else’s!” Severus actually flushed and said nothing. “Dad!” Luna was now rolling on the floor laughing loudly, holding her side. “It’s not a mine!” “That’s something you say when your parents catch you with a baggie of pot, dad! Not ABBA!” “I’m serious! It was a girl’s!” Severus regretted his words as soon as they came out. He just couldn’t win. Would they never shut up about the tape she gave him or the girl that gave it to him? Luna’s laughter subsided and the tone was now sober. Grace’s voice was low and careful, “Was it Li-“ Severus held up his hand and stopped her. He couldn’t hear her name, not from the girl who looked too much like her. And she wasn’t even the girl who he was speaking about. Again, the mood changed back to light when Luna picked up a photograph, “Woah, Mr. S!” “What?” Grace peeked over Luna’s shoulder and gasped. “Oh, what now?” Severus groaned. “You look like a teenager!” the girls said in unison. “Wow, amazing how I went through Hogwarts too once.” The photo was black and white, and Severus was sitting on a couch in what Grace assumed was the Slytherin Common Room, smiling with a cigarette between his teeth. His hair was the same length as now, and it must’ve been the weekend because he was wearing jeans and a black leather jacket. “Ew, you smoked?” Grace asked. “I can’t believe you wore a leather jacket,” Luna remarked. “It’s Draco’s now,” Severus replied. Grace snorted, “I really like that jacket. Ooh! Is this the people in your year in Slytherin?” She held up another photograph. “Yes, that’s Lucius and Narcissa next to me. And… everyone else I hated.” Draco’s parents looked like they did now, just much more youthful. They were a beautiful couple. “How come they look so much alike?” “Pureblood families are all related in some way or another.” “Yeah,” Luna added. “Draco and I are distant cousins or something.” Grace punched Luna’s arm, “Well thanks for telling me!” That would explain the same hair color, though. “Ow! It’s not like Draco knows, his parents would be ashamed to be related to my father.” There was one photograph that caught Grace’s attention; it was of Severus and a girl. They were both dressed up, probably going to the Yule Ball. They weren’t facing the camera, instead, they were looking into each other’s eyes and laughing, and it looked like Severus was holding her hand but hiding it behind the skirt of her gown. Luna followed Grace’s line of interest, she did a double-take, and then grabbed the photo and held it close to inspect it, “No way! That’s my Aunt Phoebe!” “Alright, that’s enough, you two!” Severus reached to snatch the photo out of Luna’s hand, but she tossed it back to Grace, who got up and started towards the other side of the room. Now that she looked closer, she could see how the girl looked like Luna. It was in black and white, but she could tell she had Luna’s pale blonde hair and big eyes matter what color they were. She even had Luna’s heart-shaped smile, which must mean it was a trait on Luna’s mother’s side. “Dad, why are you with Luna’s aunt?” “Grace, I said that’s enough.” “You two seem awfully close. Is she the one you were talking about?” “Grace!”  “Hey! I told you about my past, now it’s time you start opening up about yours! This is the only photograph I’ve seen of you, one that you look really happy in!” Severus sighed, “I just went to the Yule Ball with her, okay? She was a Slytherin a year behind me, and she was kind to me, so we went as friends.” Doesn’t look like you’re just friends, Grace thought. “But once I graduated, I never really spoke to her again.” That wasn’t the truth, it was only the half-truth, but Severus hoped it would subside the girls for a while until they forgot about it. Grace nodded, she knew damn well there was something more behind the story, but she also knew she wasn’t going to get much out of her father. “Okay, well night, dad!” She and Luna quickly made their way up the stairs with Severus’ box of memories. If Severus wasn’t going to spill, they’d have to go to a different source, and Grace wasn’t too happy about it.

“So, why do you need to ask my mother something?” Draco asked, his face on Grace’s laptop screen as they Facetime’d him in bed. “It’s just really important, okay? Please?” Draco shrugged and called for his mother, who walked in looking like she was red carpet ready even so late at night. “Draco, darling, what is it?” she asked, not noticing the girls on the other side of the screen yet. “Grace and Luna have a question for you,” he pointed to them. Narcissa leaned down to look at the screen, narrowing her eyes in confusion. The girls just waved, trying to be as kind and polite as they could be to get her to comply with them. “Ah, hello, girls. Draco, what on Earth is this thing? Oh, whatever. What can I help you with?” Grace held up the photo of Severus and Phoebe, “What can you tell us about this picture, Mrs. Malfoy?” Narcissa froze like she had never expected that photograph to ever see the light of day again, “Where did you find that?” “The attic,” they replied. “And what did Severus say about it?” “Not much. But since you were in Severus’ year, we were hoping you could help us?” Narcissa sighed, telling Draco to move over and took a seat next to him, “Phoebe was a year behind us. While her sister and Xenophilius were in Ravenclaw, she was sorted into Slytherin and felt very out of place there, so I sort of took her under my wing. She was… a lot like Luna, but not as… eccentric as her sister. Phoebe also took a liking to Severus and followed him like a lost puppy wherever she went. Since the Muggle Lily was starting to distance herself from Severus, naturally he grew closer to Phoebe. It was our seventh year, Lily had broken her friendship with Severus our fifth year and he was starting to dabble deeper into the Dark Arts. He took the Lily thing pretty hard, they’d been friends since they were children. So, Severus and Phoebe went to the Yule Ball together, and I thought for sure that Severus had finally found his someone like I found Lucius and that he’d turn his life around, but unfortunately, life isn’t a movie, and as the year came to a close, he caught off ties with her too. I heard she was pretty heartbroken about it, but Severus never really spoke about her anyway. That’s all I have, girls. I wish I could help you more. but until Severus decides to open up about it himself, there’s only what was on the surface. Goodnight,” and she left the room.

They laid in bed, Luna half asleep, Grace still staring at the photograph, thinking. All she wanted was her dad to be happy, and she just couldn’t get over the way he looked at Phoebe. Even if it was so many years ago, Grace didn’t think Severus really ever stopped having feelings for her. Phoebe being in America just made it easier. “Luna,” Grace whispered, testing to see if she was awake. “Wha?” Luna groaned. “Are you up?” “I am now,” she rolled over to face Grace. “What’ya want?” “We need to get my dad and your aunt back together.” Even though her eyes were closed, Luna’s face still twisted up in confusion,” What? How? She hasn’t been home in years, even refuses to. She won’t come back unless I’m in danger.” Grace got an idea, “So that’s what you’ll tell her. Write to her and pretend you’re in complete danger, and she’ll come rushing here, only to find that you’re safe and sound and also see Severus again!” “Grace, smart as you are, you’re completely daft sometimes. Sounds like Severus had no interest in my aunt. Otherwise, he would still be with her.” “No, I think there’s still more. Like he didn’t want to distance himself from her, maybe he was forced to, or was afraid to get close to someone again after whatever happened with Lily. Please, Luna, I just know as soon as they see each other again, they’ll realize how much they still like each other! It’s fate that made his daughter and her niece best friends. You can't deny the universe what it wants!” Luna tried to cover her head with the pillow, but Grace’s non-stop begging finally got her out of bed and over to the desk. She pulled out a piece of paper, quickly jotted something down, and clipped it onto her owl named Tulip that she kept here since she practically lived here, and crawled back into bed as the bird flew off to America. Grace smirked in triumph, “Thank you.” “Mh. Now go back to sleep!”

#The Potion Masters Grace #harry potter #harry potter au #modern au #severus snape #original character #Grace McClivert #luna lovegood #draco malfoy #Draco Malfoy x original character

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