In Servitude to the Dark || Tom Riddle

𝙀𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙪𝙨 𝙎𝙣𝙖𝙥𝙚

July 30, 1994

In light of Voldemort's progress, Marvolo decided he needed to accelerate Aster's training. They were now on a timetable, a race to prepare the young witch as best they could before Voldemort made his next move. The next two weeks flew by quickly, with no more visions from the main soul fragment. Aster was now accustomed to moving her magic around her body and had mastered her first wandless spell-the Levitation Charm. Now she was just moving through her textbooks, making sure she could perform all the spells without a wand.

Before Aster knew it, Severus had sent her an owl to invite her over to Prince Manor for her birthday. According to the letter, her healing/potions teacher had been busy reopening and re-warding his ancestral manor, in anticipation for her birthday - not that Snape had admitted it in his letter, though Aster was able to read between the lines and mentally translate the 'Snape Speech' to that conclusion.

Another revelation was that Sirius had been staying at Prince Manor too. That little tidbit had almost made Aster's eyes bug out. She didn't think the two could ever get along long enough to even stay in the same room for more than an hour before curses started flying. But then, she learned it was because Sirius had sustained some serious mental damage due to the prolonged exposure to the dementors. So, Snape was working on healing his mind in addition to the occlumancy training. According to Snape, it was just more prudent to stick Sirius somewhere in his manor with monitoring charms in place than trying to hunt him down in one of his rages.

Aster, of course, accepted the invitation. Marvolo even thought it would be a good break for her, not wanting his pupil to burn out. Luckily, it was only Snape who showed up to pick her up. Aster didn't want her teacher to have to deal with the Dursleys, so she gave her relatives fair warning and happily watched them scurry out the door an hour before Snape was due. She was already packed to stay for a few days because the invitation also hinted about some mysterious surprise later.

She felt her teacher's magical signature before the doorbell even rung. Too anxious to wait, Aster opened it even before the normally dour teacher was fully on the steps. "Hello, Professor," she greeted happily, noting how the man could still look intimidating even in muggle clothes.

"In light of the fact that we are not in Hogwarts," Snape said, privately glad to see how well the girl looked. He had misgivings about returning Aster back to her abominable relatives, but it really did seem like she had the situation under control. "You may call me Severus in private."

"Really?" Aster asked in shock before remembering her manners and invited the man in.

"I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it, Aster," Severus replied, stepping in and looking around curiously. He noted the horrifying floral prints on the walls, how stifling the large poofy furniture was, and most importantly the lack of Aster's pictures.

"Very muggle, isn't it?" she asked, feeling embarrassed for her relatives.

Severus wasn't one to lie just to make someone else comfortable, so he merely nodded. Without asking for permission, he began touring the place, unable to believe any wizarding child could have survived growing up here. In the kitchen, all the fine china were on display, though on closer inspection these dishes weren't worth more than a few sickles. The couches in the living room had two large indentations as if someone permanently left their imprints in it. He correctly suspected this room got the most use.

And then Severus saw the stairs, or rather the cupboard under the stairs. It was a small squarish door, no higher than his waist. There was a padlock on it and the hinge looked really new as if they were recently replaced. He squatted down and placed his palm flat against this door and closed his eyes briefly. "Merlin..." Severus breathed. The misery and sorrow imprinted upon this door were strong enough to have a life of its own. He was surprised some dark curse or creature, like a boggart, wasn't created from the sufferings of this child.