Back at Cokeworth for summer holiday, Olivia stood in the kitchen covered in flour. She was baking away her feelings in hopes of distracting her from the tension between her and Snape.
They had not spoke about the argument at the end of term. They ate in silence, lived in silence, and avoided each other.
That was until Snape came into the kitchen from his study and seen the mess the girl was making.
"What are you doing?" He asked
"Baking biscuits." She said sharply.
He blew. "Olivia I think we should talk about what happened."
"Why bother? You made it clear what you think about me."
"No I didn't. I made that same mistake many years ago and i don't want to make it again. I do not think you are less than because you are a Muggle born. I would have not let you into my home, if I thought that. The truth is," he sighed. "That I didn't think I deserved your kindness."
Olivia stopped using her rolling pin and looked up at the man with a confused look. "You thought you didn't deserve my kindness?" He nodded his head.
His jaw was clenching and Olivia could tell that this was a tough conversation for him to have. She dusted her hands off on her apron and crossed her arms. "I don't think it's up to anyone but me to decide who I think deserves my kindness. And frankly, I think if people showed more kindness then this world wouldn't be so horrible to people like me." She said matter of factly. She waited for him to say anything but he didn't and Olivia was tired of the feud between them.
"Okay, I forgive you." She huffed. She could see the relief leaving his shoulders.
"Dumbledore had a talk with me. And this year he decided that it would be best if you didn't work at the school. There is a lot of important meetings going on for the following school year and he asked me to tell you that he sends his apologies." Snape said
"That's fine, he actually gave my name to a few people that was wanting portraits done. I decided to take on commissions this summer instead. I was going to tell you. But that means I will have to go and meet with clients while you're at work." She informed him, starting up her baking again.
"You're not allowed to use magic-"
"I'm meeting with muggles." She told him
"Oh, then you have my permission."
"Good, because I have a meeting tomorrow. But can you do me a favor?" She asked. "Give these tins of biscuits to McGonagall and Dumbledore when you go to work." She said handing him two tins.
"I suppose I could." He said taking the tins from her eyeing them.
She noticed him looking at the biscuits, "You can have some off the racks on the counter. They're gingersnaps. I believe Dumbledore will get a particular laugh at them."
He walked over and bit into one. He was always shocked at how well she cooked but her baking always was enjoyable.
Cutting circles in the dough, she asked, "There's one more thing. I got a letter from the twins, their dad got tickets to the World Cup for this summer." She looked at him with a pleading look. "They invited me to join them. Can I go?"
He looked as if he was considering it, "I suppose you can. But before you go there this summer we have to go to Diagon Alley. There's one thing on your supplies list I can't get on my own. We will go the day after tomorrow since you have a meeting."
"Oh okay sounds fine to me. Thank you." Said Olivia. For the remainder of the evening she baked many tins of biscuits to take her mind off her meeting tomorrow.
She felt terrible for lying to Snape. Olivia didn't lie about painting commissions but that she was meeting with a client tomorrow.
When Olivia had gotten home she sent a letter using the Muggle post, to Number 4 Privet Drive. She didn't think she would get a response at all from her mother, but she did.
Petunia had agreed to meet with Olivia at a cafe in the Muggle district in London at 9 in the morning. And Olivia was mad with nerves, as she laid awake for most of the night.
The next morning Olivia got out of bed and began getting ready. She tried to tame her red curls the best she could. She dressed, changing her outfit many times. She finally settled on a white top with green trousers, with a sandal.
She gathered her things in her bag, and threw it over her shoulder. And went down stairs, Snape had left a note saying he left for work.
Olivia went into the study and flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. Stepping out of the fireplace, Tom the owner greeted her. "Heya Ollie, come for a cup of tea?"
"No thanks Tom, got a meeting in London. Have a good day!" She waved and stepped out of the pub.
Olivia was early to the cafe. She got herself a tea and a table and waited. She didn't know what this woman looked like so she watched everyone that came inside.
It was 5 til 9, when a long neck skinny woman came in. She looked around and her eyes found Olivia sitting in the corner. Olivia couldn't help but think that they was right, she looked nothing like her mother.
She stood when the lady reached her table. And held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Olivia, you must be..." Olivia trailed off her sentence. A sentence she had rehearsed a thousand times what she'd say to her mother.
The woman pursed her lips together and reluctantly shook her hand. It was not the face of joy and reunited that Olivia had hoped for. No, it was the face of distaste. Olivia felt her shoulders sag and her face drop.
"Yes I'm Petunia." She said sternly and sat down across from the girl. Olivia sat too. "What was so important for you to send a letter to my home?"
Olivia felt her jaw clench. But gritted through and said sweetly, "I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I just wanted to finally meet you."
"Any trouble," Petunia huffed. "Do you know my husband could have been the one to see your letter, Lord forbid if my son had."
Olivia voiced dropped and whispered, "You- you have a son?" She asked
"Yes I do, I have a perfectly happy and normal family. I do not need you messing things up."
Olivia was shocked to hear she had a brother. And by the tone of the lady's voice, Olivia could tell that her mother didn't want anything to do with her.
"What did I come all this way for? If you're just going to be silent and wasting my time." Petunia scoffed.
"I can see that this isn't going to be the reunion I'd had hoped for. So I guess I'll try to get some use out of wasting your time." Olivia said sharply. "Why did you give me up?"
Petunias neck was turning red. "Lower your voice. I don't want to think about what people would say if someone I knew heard you." said Petunia. "And to frank with you, I couldn't take care of you. I made a mistake and got pregnant and I knew that no one would want me if I had a child."
"Okay then, glad to know I was a mistake to you." Olivia scoffed Crossing her arms. "Then let's just cut to it then. Who is my father? Did he know about me?"
Petunia pursed her lips in a thin line. Looked around to make sure no one was watching. The cafe was fairly empty and they were far in the corner away from anyone's ears.
Finally she said, "No he did not know about you. I was young and was at a pub, when I met a man, and I took him home, had a one night fling, and he was gone before the sun came up." She confessed, with a desperate look to get this over with so she could leave. "I only got his first name."
"What was it?" Olivia asked impatiently
"Regulus. Or something like that. But that's it, I'm done with this conversation. Do not contact me ever again. Do not contact my family. I gave you up for you to have a better life and if they knew about you it would only make it worse." Petunia said with a tone that she was finished.
"You mean worse for you? Not me." Olivia huffed, and rolled her eyes. "Okay I understand perfectly clear that my hopes of being welcomed into my mothers arms, are dead. So don't act like you continuing to keep me out of your life, is so my life can be better. Because I have spent the entirety of my life feeling unwanted. All because I didn't have parents, that I didn't have a mother. So I know that I'll be perfectly fine without, because I have people in my life that do want me. And I'm not going to waste my time with someone who doesn't. Especially on a horrible, mean, monster of a mother like you!" Olivia stood up and threw some cash down on the table, and grabbed her bag. "You don't have to worry about me contacting you. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go live my better life."
Olivia left behind a tin of gingersnaps that she had brought with her to give her mother. Petunia sat and looked down at the table. Thinking about how her daughter was the spitting image of her sister.
Olivia stormed out of the cafe and made a beeline to the Leaky Cauldron. She ignored Toms voice as she flooed back home. Where she ran to her room and sobbed into her pillow.
Olivia wished more than anything that Fred and George was there to hold her. She cried for so long she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning Olivia got dressed and took her bag downstairs. At the kitchen table Snape was reading the paper. She put her stuff down and poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice.
"Well have to leave soon, the headmaster and Minerva are going to meet us at Diagon alley." Snape said not taking his eyes from the Daily Prophet
"Why are they meeting us for?" She asked finishing her cup of juice and took a bite of toast.
"Well, I told Dumbledore that I wouldn't be at work today and he asked why, and when I told him he insisted that he came along and invited Minerva to come also." He sighed, "we're going to going by side along today instead of the Floo it will be faster, you ready?" He asked standing up.
"Yeah I'm ready." She grabbed her bag and they went outside on the front step and disappeared. When her feet hit solid ground and opened her eyes, she saw that they were standing in front Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
"Robes? I don't need new robes. What is it that we have to get me today?" She asked looking at Snape next to her.
He heaved a sigh. "Dress robes" he said with a hint of disgust. They walked in the shop and was greeted by Dumbledore and McGonagall.
The worker directed them to a back room that had a changing room and a couch with a wall of mirrors.
"What do I need dress robes for?" She asked the three adults. As she was looking through a rack of gowns.
"You'll know when school starts." Is all they would tell her.
Olivia spent the better part of an hour trying on gown after gown. Dumbledore and McGonagall picked out a few for her to try on and Snape sat on the couch.
When she would come out in a dress, they would comment their thoughts on how it looked.
"I just don't think orange is the color for me." She said standing in front of the mirror.
Behind her she could see Minerva nodding her head in agreement. Snape looked at the dress with distaste. And Dumbledore looked as though he was thinking.
"You're right, go change out of that one and I'll hand you another." He told her.
She stood in the fitting room and hung the dress back on its hanger. "Here Ollie, try this one on." She heard Dumbledore from on the other side of the curtain. Olivia stuck out her hand and he handed her the gown.
Looking at the dress on the hanger, she was in awe of it. Olivia put it on and stepped out, and stood in front of the teachers.
"Oh Olivia that looks beautiful on you." Said Minerva, admiring the girl in the dress.
"I believe we found the one!" Dumbledore said with a smile. Olivia was smiling too.
She turned around from the mirror and looked at Snape. "So what do you think?" She asked curiously.
He no longer looked like he was going to throw up his breakfast. He actually looked pleased if that's what you could call it. He looked at the gown and then at the girl. "It will do just fine."
Olivia smiled because she knew that was him giving his approval.
They wrapped up her gown in a box and the three of them left the shop and celebrated with ice cream from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.