Ophelia, The Half-blood Princess

2. Diagon Alley

The morning had not staffed out any different than Ophelia's usual ones.

The girl has woken up, tended to her garden, taken a shower, and started breakfast all before Mrs.Figgs, her nanny, arrived.

Mrs.Figg was a kind old woman that smelled distinctly of cabbages. She had been Ophelia's nanny for as long as she could remember, and the girl considered her something like a grandmother.

"Hello dear," the woman greeted. "And what might you be doing"

"Cooking breakfast"

"Oh, no!" Mrs.Figg shook her head in horror, "Why don't you let me see that?"

The last time Ophelia had attempted to cook for them did not go so well. She had attempted to make this soup that Mrs.Figg said she liked for the woman's birthday. But the heating gauges were complicated, and apparently, you're not supposed to mix oil and water....

The house had nearly burned down. If Ophelia's adoptive father, Snape, hadn't returned home when he did, he would not have had a home to return to.

"I've been practicing! It'll be better than last time, I swear." Ophelia pleaded.

Mrs.Figg was quiet for a second, not quite convinced.

"Please." the girl whispered.

The older woman reluctantly relented, though she refused to take her eyes off Ophelia as she cooked.

Ophelia finished in no time and plated the food. Having learned her lesson from last time, it was something simple. Toast and eggs, season with spices she grew herself.

"Sorry I'm late, my other job took longer than expected" Mrs.Figg apologized over brunch.

"What is your other job?" Ophelia asked. Mrs.Figg had never divulged it to her, usually changing the subject rather conspicuously when asked. "Do you babysit for someone else?"

"You could say that," she answered with a smile.

When they were done, Mrs.Figg collected their plates and washed them, the two making small talk.

Mrs.Figg told her about her latest new cats, and Ophelia ranted about what type of wand she hoped to get. Perhaps a fairy-wing one? That sounded marvelous. Or maybe a walnut one, like her father.

A knock at the door interrupted their discussion.

The young girl wondered who it could be. Apart from Mrs.Figgs, they never got visitors here. It could be one of the kids from the village that she usually snuck out to play with, but she didn't recall telling any of them where she lived. That had been one of her father's biggest rules.

"I'll get it." Ophelia volunteered since Mrs.Figg's hands were wet.

She pulls back the door and is surprised to come face to face with Snape himself.

The weeks before school started were very busy for him and it was rare for her to see him at such a time.

'Father!" she greeted, wrapping her arms around the large-nosed man. He gave the usual awkward pat on the back and stepped inside the house.

"You may have the rest of the day off Mrs.Figgs."

The woman wasted no time thanking Snape and gathered her things.

"Bye Mrs.Figg!"

"Goodbye dear," she kissed Ophelia on the forehead, pushing away loose locs from her forehead. Locs that, whilst red upon birth, had darkened to a russet brown over the years. Then, she was gone.