Authors Note: Another chapter done, 20k words in and we're slowly moving on to new and better things. I realize that the pace is very slow. As I envision this story to go through Hollys entire Hogwarts career eventually (and I even have some plans for a post-Hogwarts continuation) it's likely that the pace will speed up once we get into the more action packed parts of the story. But for now, this is a bonding fic that focuses on family and actually getting Holly to Hogwarts, which means a lot of focus on the little things. If you think the pace is in fact too slow to the point of being boring, please let me know in the reviews as input is always appreciated. Speaking of reviews, I've decided to address any suggestions made here in the authors notes:

ThunderClaw03: I thank you for your suggestion. While I don't exclude the possibility that Holly will one day train as an animagus (though I haven't incorporated this in the outline) doing so before Hogwarts feels a bit much. Overpowered-Harry fics are one of my least favorite tropes in fanfiction and it's not really the kind of story I want to tell. While Holly will be different from Harry in certain ways, their skills and abilities will be on par and I envision this story to stick to canon in that regard. As you may have noticed I'm making Holly a bit more bookish than Harry was (which will also affect the dynamic between her, Ron and Hermione once the time comes), but the changes I'm making are more about personality and how a persons background affects events and not so much making her more or less powerful/skilled. Besides, I always imagined that it would make more sense for an animagus to train someone in the skill, thus either Sirius or Minerva would be better choices for that.

Now, please enjoy chapter 6.

6.

"Alright Holly," Poppy said, flicking her wand to unfurl a large scroll of parchment that she held hovering a few feet away. "You know the whole alphabet, yes?" The little girl nodded excitedly. Poppy smiled. "Good, can you read the first letter for me, the one at the top?"

Holly turned towards the parchment and squinted her eyes, leaning forward on her tiptoes as if to get closer without actually taking a step, which she suspected would be cheating. "E!" she exclaimed happily.

"Very good." Poppy praised. "Now, can you read the line below the E?"

Holly nodded and turned back to the parchment. She squinted even harder, bouncing back and fort from her heels to her toes, stopping now and then to tilt her head to the sides. Severus, who had been observing silently from the side, nearly snickered. He shouldn't find it funny, he reasoned, but the odd little dance his daughter was performing trying to suss out the letters was just about the cutest thing he'd ever seen. "E... B?" Holly said after a moment, sounding uncertain and looking between Severus and Poppy for confirmation.

"Alright, and the next row please?" The Matron replied with a smile.

Holly scowled, a little annoyed about not knowing if she'd gotten it right or not. Still she obliged and squinted at the parchment once more. Several moments later she sighed dejectedly and shook her head. It was too blurry, and she still wasn't sure if that first letter on the second row had been an E or an F.

Severus, having sensed her disappointment crouched down to eye level. 'If she's this concerned about 'failing' a simple vision test I can't imagine how she'll handle exams and essays' he thought idly, deciding that they would have to work on it. "It's alright," he said, brushing the fringe from her forehead, pleasantly surprised when neither the girl or himself recoiled has his fingers brushed over the scar nestled over her eyebrow "can't win every time. But you, my girl, need glasses."

Holly bit her lower lip and mumbled something Severus couldn't hear.

"What's that, petal?"

"Auntie says glasses are too expensive." she replied, still mumbling but clearly enough for him to hear. He frowned but retained his composure.

"Well your aunt won't be buying them, I will." He replied, tilting her head up by her chin "Besides, nothing you truly need is expensive. Since you like to read, I'm guessing your head often hurts because you have a hard time seeing the letters, correct?" The girl nodded. "Well then, with glasses you shouldn't have those headaches anymore and you'll be able to read as much as you want. Wouldn't you like that?" Finally the smile on Hollys face returned and she bobbed her head excitedly. He smirked and turned to Poppy. "Will we have to seek out an optician in Diagon Alley, or-"

"Of course not!" Poppy interrupted him, waving her hand "I'm more than capable of seeing to it, we can do it now if you like."

The Matron exited the ward for a moment and entered a room at the back. They could hear mumbling and shuffling from within, with the occasional sound of something heavy being dragged over the stone floor. After a little while, they heard a triumphant "Ah!" and she returned carrying a very large leather case.

"Now," she said, placing the case on a tray where she would normally place potions and medical equipment "It's been some time since I last did this, let me see...".

She thought for a moment, then swished her hand over the side of the case. The intricate latches snapped open and the she lifted the lid carefully. Inside the case a large assortment of glass lenses mingled with cogwheels and other bits and bobs of brass. Poppy flicked her wand and the pieces all started to float out of the case. Holly stared at them with wide eyes. The pieces twirled in each others orbits for a moment before starting to latch together. After a while, they had all arranged themselves into the shape of a face mask made of brass with large wheels of lenses, all different sizes and thickness protruding from either side of the eyelets. Holly thought it looked rather like the bright red, plastic stereoscope that uncle Vernon had brought with him from a business trip to Florida. Of course it had been for Dudley and she'd never used it. She decided that this was far more impressive, though. Poppy directed the contraption with her wand so it floated in front of the still levitating parchment.

"Now sit right here" she said, conjuring a high stool. With some help from her father Holly clambered on top and shifted to face this new marvel in front of her. "It's an optometer" Poppy explained "The muggles use a similar device, I'm told. What I want you to do, Holly, is just look through those holes there" she continued, pointing to the eyelets in the mask "The lenses will start to rotate, and you just tell us when you can see clearly. Then the optometer will print out what kind of lenses you'll need on a piece of parchment."

An hour later and after a trip to the Charms professor for a permanent scratch prevention charm, Poppy returned with a pair of round glasses on a thin metal wire frame. Holly brushed her fingers over the frame in an almost reverent manner before sliding them on carefully. They were a bit big for her small face, but Poppy argued that she would grow into them fairly quickly, and that they could always resize them later if necessary.

Severus watched his daughter walk about the room gawking at absolutely everything. Her tiny head snapped around, taking in all the details of the room. Stopping just before the doors, she honed in one one of the large ornate candlesticks that stood sentry at either side of the portal. The large gold obelisks were intricately carved with swirls and feathers that gave off an organic feels, ending in detailed talons for feet and candle holder. Holly examined it all thoroughly before letting her eyes wander again. This time to the large stained glass windows that before had just been blurs of muddled colors but now offered a spectacular patchwork in every shade of the rainbow, forming scenes that told stories of brave healers traversing vast distances and braving fierce battles to practice their craft for those in need.

"That's Saint Mungo," Poppy supplied when Hollys eyes fell on a mosaic of an olive skinned wizard leading a large group of people who were all covered in boils into an unassuming building. "Opening the doors of his practice to all the victims of the great pixie plague epidemic of 1649."

"Everything's so clear!" Holly exclaimed giddily, rocking on her feet. Severus smirked. If he could keep that smile on her face even by just providing for her basic needs everything might just work out after all.

~···························~

The next few days passed calmly and quite uneventfully. The last stragglers amongst the students, the ones preparing for a mastery in one subject or another in the coming year who had lingered to discuss it with the head of the relevant department, left for summer holidays a few days after the end of term. Just as every other year since he began to teach no student had expressed interest in pursuing a potions mastery, which had suited him just fine every other year and he certainly welcomed that he wouldn't have to add another distraction to the puzzle of raising a child. The school always felt empty this time of year despite the lingering presence of a full staff. It wasn't odd, Severus supposed, for the large castle to feel all but abandoned with the loss of hundreds of residents. In fact, he had always felt that it was sparsely populated for its size even at peak activity. He enjoyed the relative solitude it afforded him with his daughter. With the exception of Poppy the only person who would visit was Albus. Severus had warmed to the headmaster fairly quickly after their initial spat. While he still resented what Albus had done, he had to admit he saw the logic and the need behind it. While he resented the duties he had shouldered to keep an eye on Death Eater activity, he realized that his retirement from them would be a blow to the cause. More importantly Albus seemed genuinely repentant once the truth of his daughters living conditions had been revealed. So against his own nature he decided to take a page from Lilys book and be forgiving by offering the headmaster a second chance. After all had he himself not been given several?

As for his daughter, she seemed to take quickly to her new surroundings. The odd bit of magic performed by himself and Poppy and no longer made her jump or flinch, and to his delight he noticed that she slowly started to become more freely spoken, growing more comfortable to voice her thoughts and needs with every passing day as she adjusted to the idea that doing so would no longer mean a risk of being punished. He had to get her another book as well. While she didn't read as fast as a Hogwarts student, for obvious reasons, she had still managed to consume Hogwarts: A History in less than a week. Severus couldn't help to be impressed and felt pride swell in his chest, it was after all a book meant for children twice her age and a book often enjoyed by alumni well into adulthood, in addition to being a traditional congratulatory gift given to children once they received their acceptance letters to the school. He smiled at the thought. He would get to do all those things now, give her a copy of the book once her letter arrived, present her with her very own pocket watch once she turned seventeen. The latter was normally a tradition reserved for wizards, between father and son, but Severus wasn't much of a traditionalist and certainly not old fashioned. In fact, had it not been Eileen who had given him his watch because it was clear to both that they could expect no such gesture from Tobias? He hadn't appreciated it then, but somehow looking at his own child now made him see the gesture for what it truly was, and for the first time in many years he regretted that he and his mother had not been on good terms when she passed on.

Holly observed the board, her brow furrowed and her tongue sticking out slightly in deep thought as she pondered the next move. "Bishop to... E4." she said finally, watching intently as the tiny vicar figurine slid across the checkered surface, swung his staff and knocked the tortoise shell helmet from one of her fathers pawns. Her own pawns burst out in a small, triumphant cheer. Grinning she looked up and met his eyes. "Your turn!".

He smirked. She obviously thought she had him now. Lily had been the same way, a decent player in her own right but lacking the scheming quality required to think an absurd amount of moves in advance. It wasn't a fault of intelligence, certainly not, merely a difference in personality that made him better suited for the game of Wizards Chess. Still, the girl was not yet six years old, and had provided a surprisingly challenging match. He found himself wondering if she wouldn't actually beat him one day. "Knight to C3." he said, and the piece neighed and slid across the squares. His pieces all cheered as Hollys king dropped his sword in defeat. The queen glared at her indignantly.

"Sorry" she murmured and hung her head, a slight tint of red coloring her cheeks.

"It's ok, petal. You did good." He chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Though you have to watch out so your pieces don't rebel."

"They can do that?" she asked, the magical world truly was fascinating to her. Everything seemed to have a will and a life of its own.

"Sure, if they don't trust you to lead them. Though I suspect your queen is just a sore loser."

Holly giggled and packed the grumpy and cheery pieces both into the green velvet that lined the holding case where they promptly fell asleep.

Severus called for an elf and ordered a few sandwiches for lunch. Holly didn't jump when the small creature popped into existence beside them, but still watched him rather warily. His name was Gibbs, Holly had learned from watching her father interact with him, but she had yet to muster up the courage to speak with the elf, though she thought he seemed nice enough. She didn't like how her father never seemed to thank Gibbs for what he did when he brought them food, but he also wasn't mean about it like her auntie and uncle would have been. Maybe it was simply the way you were supposed to speak to the elves? She decided she would ask her father later. She bit into the ham and cheese sandwich with gusto. The crust had been cut off, too. Holly had been weary of asking for it, but her father had noticed how she ate around the crusts, saving them for last and then forcing herself to eat the dry pieces at the end. She had never liked crusts, but her uncle would always say that 'Beggars can't be choosers'. At first it had made her embarrassed when he had finally gotten her to ask for them to please cut the edges off, but now it filled her stomach with a warm, pleasant feeling. He did it for her, he cared about what she liked. She took a swig from her glass of cold pumpkin juice that came with the sandwiches. This was another thing she loved. She had never had juice before, any kind of juice. At play group they only got milk or water, and of course her auntie and uncle would only give her water. She liked the taste, it was sweet and tangy but not overly so and she found the bright orange color to be very inviting. Her father had told her she would still need to drink milk now and then because it was healthy, but he also said that variety was a good thing.

"Madam Pomfrey told me this morning that you should be well enough to go home tomorrow." her father said, putting down his cup of tea after finishing the last of his own sandwich. Holly froze, a pang of fear shot through her and she felt her stomach twist painfully for a moment. She didn't mean to, she had noticed that whenever she got scared or sad about something her father seemed to be able to tell right away and would worry. She didn't like to worry him. This time though he only smiled. "No, home to our house, love." he added, like he had been able to hear exactly what she was thinking. The knot in her stomach dissipated quickly.

~···························~

"Ready?" her father asked as they stood in front of the large fireplace in the hospital wing. She nodded but swallowed hard and looked apprehensively at the hearth. She had seen him depart and arrive once through the green flames, and also professor Dumbledore, but something about being swallowed whole by fire, even if it was green, didn't seem safe.

She was still wearing the pajamas that she got from Madam Pomfrey as her father had decided that they were more proper than what she had been waring at her aunties and uncles house. She had gotten a small backpack for her things. She didn't have much, but Madam Pomfrey had let her keep the book and a spare set of pajamas as well. She felt a bit silly wearing bed clothes, but had to admit that they both looked better and were more comfortable than her other clothes. She pulled on the backpack straps nervously.

Severus, having taken notice of his daughters obvious discomfort place a reassuring hand on her should and bent down slightly. "It's nothing to be scared of. The fire doesn't burn at all, it just feels a bit warm but not hot at all."

"Okay." Holly said and moved on to wringing her hands instead. She swallowed hard again.

"You're worried you're going to get sick again?" he asked kindly. The girl nodded and looked a little miserable. "It won't" he assured her. "It's nothing like apparation, it's more like going through a tunnel. Children can even go through on their own as long as they know the name of the destination." He paused then, realizing what he had just implied. "Not that you should try to floo on your own, mind." he added as an afterthought, hoping his voice wasn't too scolding.

"Okay." Holly said again, sounding a bit more confident.

He decided that her apprehension would probably pass in time once she had done it a few times. In fact he could remember being less than thrilled about traveling by floo himself in the beginning. He held out his hand to her. "Here, you just hold on to me." Holly took his hand tentatively and walked with him into the fireplace.

Her father reached into his robe pocket and fished out a pinch of sparkling powder. "Snape residence, Spinners End!" he called out loudly and threw the powder at their feet. She saw the green flames erupt under them, she flinched but they were warm and not hot, just as he had promised. She felt a pulling sensation in the pit of her stomach like when falling but a lot less unpleasant and they shot away through a green tunnel. She closed her eyes for good measure and kept them closed even when she felt solid ground under her feet once again. She both heard and felt her father chuckle beside her. "You can open your eyes now." he said mildly. She obeyed and found herself in a small room. She liked it immediately. The walls were covered on all sides, floor to ceiling with bookcases filled with really old books. The dark, wooden floorboards were covered in a large oriental looking rug and the mantel of the fireplace they had just existed was populated by an assortment of knick-knacks that all looked old and mysterious. "Welcome home, petal." her father said, and she smiled widely.