GINGERSNAPS

2. Settling In

"I understand sir thank you very much." She said happily, but still stood there.

"Is there something else?" He asked after noticing she wasn't leaving.

"Yes sir, because it is a birthday, and I would hate not to show up with a gift after they welcomed me to there home-" she said but was cut off by Snape.

"If you need money I could give-" he was telling the girl.

"Actually, not to interrupt, but I wasn't asking you for the money. I was going to ask once I've properly worked and earned money of my own, who you take me to Diagon Alley, so I could buy a gift." She stated to the man, wanting for him to say no just for being rude and interrupting an adult while talking. At the Orphanage they would be punished for a week for doing the same thing.

He looked at the girl, with a look of curiosity. "And how would you properly work to earn said money?" He asked with a raise of his brow.

"I've already got a job of sorts lined out. I wrote to Professor Dumbledore to see if he had any odd jobs I could do to earn money around the school, this summer while you go there to work yourself. I thought maybe I could with you too. Professor Dumbledore told me he made a list of things I could do this summer."

Slightly amazed that she took the effort on her own to find a job to earn money instead of asking him for it. "You don't have to work, I can give you an allowance if you like." He told her.

"No offense sir, and I do appreciate it. I would like to earn it myself. At the orphanage they made us work all the time and we never seen anything in return for it. I think it would be nice to be rewarded for my hard work." She said softly to him, with a small smirk.

"Very well, I am going to Hogwarts tomorrow you can with me. Now if that's all." He told her with a wave of a hand towards the door.

"Thank you!" She said smiling and left the room closing the door behind her. Snape sat looking at the paper in his head, he shook his head lightly, with a corner of his mouth raised.

The next day Olivia was awake before the sun was up, too excited to sleep any longer. She made her way downstairs quietly, not to wake up Mr.Snape. She decided to make breakfast for the two. She made toast and tea. She also attempted to make scrambled eggs which didn't turn out so bad.

Just when she was finishing putting some eggs of a second plate she hear the footsteps of Mr. Snape coming down the stairs. Dressed in his usual black robes, he walked into the kitchen. "You made breakfast." He said matter of factly.

"Yeah, I thought I would since you always make our meals. You don't have to eat it if you don't like it, it may not be any good. This is the first time I've really ever got to cook. But I've always wanted to, I worked in the kitchen at the orphanage but only washing dishes they never let me help with preparing the food, but over the years I watched the cooks and learned a few things. I always wanted to try out what I learned." She told him cheerily, she sat down in one of the two chair at the small table in the corner of the room. She smiled at him before taking a bite of the breakfast, surprised to find that her eggs we're actually pretty good.

Snape took his seat, noticing she even made his tea the way he took it, just with a splash of milk. He opened up the morning paper, and took a bite of the meal. They ate in silence until he stood up and waved his wand that cleared the table and began cleaning the dishes. "We better be going, we're traveling by Floo Powder into the headmasters office. He wanted to speak with you about the work you'll be doing."

She stood up and dusted the toast crumbles off her light blue shirt and jeans. And bent down the tie the laces of her black converse, that looked better on most days. "All ready sir!" She said smiling.