White Heather for Protection

Another One Opens

"Guess we'll just have to name our firstborn children after you instead."

Heather actually considered the offer. But then she saw the distraction for what it was. "Wait, you have a name already? What is it?"

"You'll just have to find out on opening day!" they sang.

"That's not fair! I'm a partner in this venture too!" Heather protested.

"Kinda hypocritical, ain't it? You refused to tell anyone your plans for after graduation too," Ron pointed out.

Hermione looked at the boy next to her in shock, whether because he used the word 'hypocritical' or understood it enough to recognise it, Heather didn't know.

Hadrian just sat waiting for her to speak. As promised, he was the first person she'd told. He had been less surprised than she expected, saying something about 'he should've known'. He'd been ecstatic that she would still be at Hogwarts, though.

"Actually, as of this morning, I'm apprenticed under Professor Snape for my Potions Mastery."

A collective 'oh' was all she got from the others in the carriage. She pouted at the underwhelmed response. First Rian, now all of them?

"What do you mean 'oh'? I thought there would be a little more surprise than that."

Her brother shrugged. "To be fair, it's not like you've made your admiration of Professor Snape a secret to us."

"And I was 99% sure you'd further your studies in potions, whether through uni or apprenticeship," Hermione added.

Fred and George smirked. "Come on, Heather-harp, we know you."

"Give us a bit more credit than that."

Seriously? She turned to the last one there. Surely Ron, oblivious Ron, hadn't seen this coming?

"What? Don't look at me. I don't like the git, but even Iknow he's a pretty big deal as far as potions go. It would make sense to learn from him, right?"

Heather groaned into her hands. And she'd thought she could surprise all of them.

"There there, Heather, at least you can shock Sirius with the news," Hadrian said, clearly sounding like he was choking back laughter.

Her groans increased in volume. That was a headache she didn't need. Maybe she'd tell him via a letter instead.

~~~

As predicted, Sirius hadn't taken the news well at all. He couldn't seem to understand why Heather had chosen to contract with Severus, when she could have had any pick of Potions Masters with her grades. A few choice words about Severus' character, or lack thereof, had been spit out, which she immediately shut down.

She didn't know why her godfather couldn't simply let sleeping dogs lie (pun unintended). It wasn't like she was asking him to make merry with Severus, just accept her decision with grace.

Thankfully, Remus was ever the voice of reason, calming Sirius down with the ease of years of experience. At least she could count on one of her godfathers to be mature.

In the end, Sirius hadn't congratulated her, but no more slurs had been said and she knew better than to expect more.

~~~

The beginning of Heather's summer was marked by helping with renovations to the property in Diagon. Fred and George had insisted on doing them all personally to save on galleons, so it had been all a little hit and miss in the beginning. They soon got the hang of the constructions spells they needed, though, and most of the work proceeded smoothly after that.