The Letters Of Savannia Prince

March 19, 1987 (pt. 1)

March 19, 1987

Molly and I were practically inseparable for most of our time at Hogwarts. It's not often that two people from two different houses can maintain such a close friendship. Some people viewed it as weird, but to me, it made total sense. Gryffindor and Slytherin are more similar than people think. Many people who are in Slytherin could be in Gryffindor and many who are in Gryffindor should be in Slytherin. That is why I think that there is such a fierce rivalry between them. I always thought it was funny how we looked like the stereotypical version of our houses. Molly had an athletic build with medium-length fiery red hair. She had a bright happy face speckled with her cute freckles. I, on the other hand, had frizzy raven-black hair that ran all the way down my back. I was tall and lanky towering over Molly in our last few years. The only thing that set me apart from my house was my colorful clothes. My closet did consist of a lot of dark clothing, but as I was able to start buying my own clothes, I started to sprinkle more color throughout. Molly tended to dress in fall colors most likely because fall was her favorite season. She loved wearing sweaters. Every year for her birthday, since I couldn't afford anything else, I would knit her a sweater with some plant embroidered on the front and her name sewn into the cuff of the right sleeve. She was always better at knitting than me but I took to embroidery quicker. We'd joke that one day if everything else fell through, we could start a sweater shop. I wish we had.

Our friendship was tested when I was elected prefect. My new duties took up the majority of my time and so we started to drift apart. I won't pretend that I wasn't to blame because I just threw myself into my work after hearing that my mother had fallen ill. I was told that a nurse would be taking care of her and Severus, but that did not put my worried mind at ease. I just put all of my anxiety into my schoolwork because that was something I could control. It did me good because I got to sit in for one of the advanced charms classes two years above my level.

"Ah, yes! Savannia Prince! Welcome, welcome! I was just giving an introduction to the class. You can take a seat next to Fabian Prewitt." The charms professor exclaimed pointing to a table near the back.

I nodded and sat awkwardly next to my best friend's brother.

"Savannia." He said and I just smiled back.

The rest of the class was boring. The professor just told us what we were going to be learning and when and all of that unimportant stuff that students never listen to.

Once class was over, Fabian turned to me, "Hey so if you ever need help with anything for this class, I'm here."

"Thanks." I managed.

"Do you know where your next class is? I can walk you if you want." He said as I stood from my seat.

"Sure." I smiled again more genuinely this time. This began the year-long tradition of walking to our next classes together.

Over the next few years, I got closer to the Prewitts and even took Severus to visit them over breaks. After our mother's death, we spent the Holidays with them and they became our second family. They helped us through her death and I am forever grateful to them. It was a very dark time in my life.

I was in the room the day my mother died. I didn't know how to feel. I just gripped a sniffling Severus and stared at her body. She had always been pale but now she was unnaturally white rivalling the white walls that swallowed us whole. The room was filled with smothering deafening silence. My mother is dead. I thought. My mother is dead. My mother is dead. Our mother is dead. We are alone. Severus was only 8 at the time. I was freshly 18 and I had no idea what to do. My mother had been sick for a while, and so with the money I earned from my summer job, I managed to afford a nursemaid who would come a few times a week to administer healing potions and charms and the like. Thankfully, the nurse was there at the time. She helped us with the funeral and the preparation and everything. Her name was Mariam Hayes. She stayed in touch and made sure we were taken care of. After she retired, she helped with the bookstore that I eventually purchased on Hobswell. She was the closest thing I ever had to a mother.

I couldn't really process my mother's death because I had things to attend to like the logistics of where Severus was going to stay. My first thought was to send him to Fabian and Gideon but they were still off finishing their auror training. I decided the best course of action was to just sneak Severus into Hogwarts with me. Maybe not the most logical decision, but in my defense, I was 18 and it seemed like a great idea to me. I wanted to keep him close, especially with the death of our mother. I didn't know how to help him grieve, but at least I would be there.

The day came for me to return to Hogwarts and Severus fit perfectly in my rolling suitcase. Unfortunately, there are an ungodly amount of stairs everywhere in Hogwarts, but I just used a slight levitation spell when no one was looking trying to keep up the appearance that there were only clothes in my suitcase. On my way to the Slytherin dorms, I passed a door that I didn't recognize. My curiosity got the best of me and I cracked the door open. Inside was a child's bedroom and as I walked in, I realized what this room was. I had heard whispers of a room that appears to fill your needs.

"Are we there yet?" I heard Severus whisper from the suitcase.

"I think so," I replied as I freed him.

"Woah," he muttered as he took in the room, "What is this place?"

"The room of requirement," I hoist him out, "I'm pretty sure at least. There's plenty here to keep you busy while I'm not here and I will be here as much as I can."

"I don't want to be alone. I want to be with you," he said wrapping his arms around me.

I knelt down and embraced him, "You'll have plenty to do here and I will be sure to bring you more. Not to mention, I will be bringing you food three times a day. Besides, this will only be for two months. I know that sounds like a long time, but it will go by faster than you think." I kissed him on the forehead before laying out his stuff.

We spent the next hour decorating making the room feel more cozy and homely. I left him playing with his toys with a promise that I would be back to tuck him in. I dropped my bag off at my bed and then proceeded to the great hall for dinner. I slipped a few pieces here and there in a napkin to take to Severus. A few students wished me their condolences in passing and I could sense worried looks being cast from the Gryffindor table from Molly and Arthur. They had probably heard about my mother's death from the rumors going around or maybe the headmaster had done me the disservice of announcing it to the entire school. When dinner had come to a close, I tried to slip away from the crowd but Molly caught up to me.

"Sav! Savannia, wait up!" she grabbed my arm and pulled me into a corner away from the crowd of students bustling past, "Sav, are you okay? I heard about your mother-"

"I'm fine, Molly. You don't have to worry about me."

"Are you sure? She was your mother-"

"Barely." I scoffed but then continued after seeing Molly's face, "Look, I appreciate your concern but I really want to just go to bed right now, okay? We can talk later."

"Okay..." Molly managed but her eyes were still stricken with worry, "Good night, Savannia." she muttered turning to Arthur, who had just caught up, in disbelief as I walked away.