Chapter 3: The Very Thought Of You
After another puffy-eyed, fitful night of semi-sleep, Clancy wasn't sure that Aunt Hilly's farcical letter hadn't been a complete hallucination. Clancy's usual breakfast of instant oatmeal and Diet Dr. Pepper fortified her somewhat to explore the hatbox once again. She reread Hilly's letter four more times, and still didn't know what to make of it.
The hatbox also contained a thick, rubber-banded stack of envelopes, years of correspondence from that Dumbledore person. His letters looked rather odd, Clancy thought, like old, faded parchment. She removed the rubber band and opened the first envelope. But, before she could read the letter, it disintegrated into ashes. As the ashes reached the floor, they sparkled bright white, then disappeared altogether. Clancy opened another, and then another, and the same thing occurred each time.
Putting the remainder of the pile aside, she proceeded to open a packet containing nothing more than duplicates of family photos she'd seen dozens of times -- nothing unusual there. She sorted through them, and found one at the very bottom she didn't recognize. Clancy held it up to the light for a better look, and the two people in the photograph started to move. A prickly, shivery sensation played up the length of her spine, before the photograph fluttered to the floor.
This called for another Dr. Pepper. Drink in hand, Clancy cautiously approached the picture, and gingerly picked it up for another look. There was Hilly, looking young and blissfully maternal, bouncing a beaming boy on her lap. The boy had beautiful dark eyes and thick black hair. He looked over his shoulder, gazed adoringly at Aunt Hilly, and laughed as she pantomimed playing piano across the top of his head.
Could it be, Clancy wondered, SEVERUS?
She turned the picture over. On the back was written: "My darling nephew, Severus Snape, age three, 1963." The little boy in the picture was awfully cute. Clancy could certainly see why Hilly had cared so much about him, and kept in touch with her friend, Dumbledore, for news about her nephew. As Clancy continued studying the photograph, she imagined what Severus might look like today.
One last item remained in the hatbox: It was Aunt Hilly's old conductor's baton. Clancy never did understand why her aunt treasured that thing so much, always keeping it near her. Why would she have one, anyway? Hilly had taught piano and voice; she had never been a conductor.
Picking up the baton, a sudden memory flashed through Clancy's mind. She was a little girl, and Aunt Hilly and she were singing together. She remembered the feel of Hilly's baton against her throat. Hilly murmured something foreign-sounding. Then, miraculously, Clancy heard herself singing higher notes than she had ever reached before.
As she continued holding the baton, another memory came rushing back to her. She was ten years old, returning from a visit to Mrs. Lawrence. Aunt Hilly was on the opposite curb, awaiting her. Just as she reached the center of Pennsylvania Circle, a car swerved around the corner heading straight toward her. Within a matter of seconds, Hilly pointed her baton at the oncoming car and shouted something. The car stopped only inches before it would have hit her.
All this was really too much for Clancy to absorb. Her aunt had had her quirky little ways, but she couldn't have been a ... a WITCH! And yet, Clancy couldn't stop thinking about those memories, the moving photograph, and Dumbledore's disintegrating letters.
She tried opening more of the strange, parchment envelopes, but the result was the same as before. As the last one turned to ashes, it revealed underneath another of Hilly's plain blue envelopes marked "Mailing Instructions." Clancy opened it, and began to read.
Dearest Clancy,
You're still with me, then? Good girl! Here's what to do next:
1. Write your letter to Albus Dumbledore. Get to the point, no hearts and flowers.
2. Seal it in an envelope, and address it to
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
3. Now, put THAT envelope inside a larger envelope, and address it to
Mr. A. Dumbledore
Personal & Confidential
c/o The Leaky Cauldron
(You'll find the rest of the address in my stocking drawer.)
4. Put it in the post. Off you go now!
A thousand treacle kisses,
Aunt Hilly
P.S. When a wizard writes a letter and marks it "personal," it's charmed to disintegrate if anyone other than the addressee tries to read it. There's nothing to get alarmed about.
June 20, 1992
Dear Professor Dumbledore,
I regret to inform you that my aunt, Mrs. Hillary (Prince) Brubeck, passed away on June 8th. Her last request was that I advise you, her dear friend, of her passing.
Very truly yours,
Clancy Norgard
P.S. Is my aunt's nephew, Severus Snape, well? I understand he's a professor at your school. Aunt Hillary mentioned him to me so frequently I feel as though I almost know him.
17th July 1992
Dear Miss Norgard,
I am very sorry to learn of your aunt's passing. Please accept my sincere condolences. She was a most kind and loving woman. She possessed many unique qualities, as I'm sure you know.
Hillary and I shared a great love of music, and she was one of the few people who ever had the good sense to send me socks for Christmas.
She wrote of you often, so I feel as if I know you, as well. Did you have instant oatmeal and Diet Dr. Pepper for breakfast this morning? Do you still have the scar on your left ankle from tripping over a pumpkin last autumn?
Regarding your inquiry about Severus Snape, why not pay us a visit and see for yourself?
Very truly yours,
Albus Dumbledore
PS: I've taken the liberty of enclosing a train ticket to Hogwarts from King's Cross Station, London. The Hogwarts Express is by far the easiest way to reach our school. Please try to arrive at the space between Platforms 9 and 10 by ll:00 a.m. on the appointed day. Look for a large family with red hair. Join their league, and you shouldn't have any trouble passing through the thick of things.
Clancy had no plans for the rest of the summer, and it would be a treat to get out of the California smog and enjoy a different climate. She could do a little sightseeing, visit Hogwarts, meet Professor Dumbledore and Severus, and still be back home in time for her own school term to begin. Her friends Rhonda and Brad Sepell had expressed interest in leasing Aunt Hilly's house, and she had agreed to let them move in on August 1. Clancy had happy childhood memories of staying next door with her aunt while her parents traveled, so she didn't have the heart to put the house up for sale. The Sepell's could keep an eye on her place, so why shouldn't she go?
When Morpheus came to call that night, Clancy dreamed she was skipping across the moors and frolicking through the heather. Goodbye, hot, smoggy Pasadena! Goodbye, Mr. Chips! Hello, Severus Snape!