A Bend in Time

It hadn't even been five minutes when Rowan heard the squeaking of the front door. She reflexively tensed and waited to hear the gait of the footsteps. She relaxes at hearing the lighter gait of Severus. Severus emerges from the hallway holding a pair of shining scissors, no doubt flinched from somewhere nearby.

Severus catches Rowan's eye and sheepishly says, "I need a haircut."

Rowan's lips twitch into a rueful grin at Severus's unique way of apologizing. "Alright," she responded but not before saying, "But first take a shower and change into a clean set of clothing. You absolutely reek!"

Severus rolls his eyes but grudgingly does as he is told. Severus stomps upstairs and not long after running water can be heard as Severus lets out a yelp at the cold water. This was mostly the reason why they didn't bathe as much as they should. The old water heater was broken and all that came out was buckets of icy, cold water.

The sounds of Severus trying to bathe echo through the house while Rowan is in deep thought. There will be a total of seven Horcruxes with five of them already in existence. Yet one of these Horcruxes was not intentionally created. There is a possibility of a repeat or of a similar accident occurring. Following the train of thought, there is nothing that is for certain regarding the creation of the last two Horcruxes. The only consolation is that Voldemort preferred to wait to find suitable vessels to place his souls inside. But still, that didn't exclude the possibility that he'd use two entirely different vessels for the two remaining Horcruxes.

Ignoring that depressing train of thought Rowan turns her thoughts toward the known Horcruxes. Of the five Horcrux already in existence, their present whereabouts can't be confirmed except for one. What is presently known is that the first Horcrux, Tom Riddle's Diary will be given to Lucius Malfoy at some point, which later will be given to Ginny Weasley. The second Horcrux, Gaunt's ring should or will shortly be placed at the Gaunt home. As for the third Horcrux, the Hufflepuff Cup, will at some point be given to Bellatrix and be placed in the Gringotts vault. With the fourth Horcrux, the Slytherin's Locket will be placed on an island in the middle of the sea in 1979. And the fifth Horcrux, the only confirmed and accessible Horcrux for the time being is the Ravenclaw's Diadem located in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts.

Rowan is sincerely tempted to destroy the Diadem, the minute she arrived at Hogwarts, it would be a rather pointless endeavor as it required items which did not possess nor be able to acquire with her present strength. Nor did she possess the sufficient power to execute a high-level spell required to destroy a Horcrux. In the end, she would have no choice but to be patient.

"Voldemort is going to be a real pain to deal with," Rowan mused out loud to herself.

Abruptly Rowan stiffens at feeling an icy-like presence pass through as if in search of something, before swiftly continuing forward unable to find that which is sought. "How could I possibly forget?!" She hmphed in embarrassment unconsciously rubbing her arm covered in goosebumps. Voldemort's name was cursed and the more his name was said the greater the distinct possibility of his being able to sense his name being used. In that case, she would have to remember to refer to him only as Tom or Riddle.

The loud stomping of Severus comes to great relief to Rowan as a distraction. He dries his straggly raven-colored hair with a thin towel full of holes. Rowan gestures to the open space in front of her knees. Severus shivers at the damp chill and hurries over to huddle against Rowan. Curling up on the dirty, carpet rug, Severus shivers letting out a loud sneeze. It was like bathing outside in the middle of winter!

Rowan holds up the scissors in the light and warningly says, "Don't move or else I might mess this up."

Severus doesn't even dare to breathe remaining as still as possible. Gently using her fingers, Rowan combs Severus's hair until she is satisfied. She carefully begins to cut and snip causing dark locks to scatter across the dirty rug. After some time, she trims one last bit of hair with a satisfied expression and admires her handiwork. "If I do say so myself, you look quite handsome, Sev."

Severus warily moves his neck as he feels his hair feel that much lighter. He grabs a hair tendril and finds that at its longest it reaches the edge of his mouth. Slightly worried, he scrambles to his feet and heads up the stairs towards the newly cleaned bathroom. He halts in the doorway stunned at his appearance. His hair perfectly frames his face appearing sleek and shiny highlighting his onyx-colored eyes like the brightest of opals.

Severus preens himself in the mirror with delight and even boldly winks at his reflection causing himself to blush in embarrassment. With red splotchy cheeks, Severus stomps downstairs and thanks, Rowan. "Not bad."

"Yeah, not too bad indeed," Rowan commented as she swept up the last bits of hair, before tossing them in the bin. Putting the broom away, she hears their stomachs begin to rumble. Rubbing her stomach she says, "Do we wait for mother to return, or should we head out to buy a bun with the change we have left?"

Severus fidgets and says, "Mum might be back soon. Let's wait for a bit." Rowan shrugs as she takes a seat on a broken down faded bluish loveseat, while Severus claimed the velvet old lime green armchair.

The two quietly wait as a small dusty clock in the corner continues to tick away. Thirty minutes later, Rowan is about to suggest they leave when the door opens, and in enters Eileen. Eileen holds a small brown paper bag in her hand and holds out the bag for them to take. Severus instantly bolts forward to find four buns inside, two for each of them. Severus's eyes widen in delight as he says, "Thanks mum," before heading over to Rowan with her share.

Eileen pays her children no further attention heading straight up to her and Tobias's bedroom. She didn't want to hear the prattle of her children. She was sufficiently stressed as it was.

"That was weird," Rowan mumbled with a mouthful of food.

"What is?" Severus mumbled back.

"She actually got us more than a single bun for both of us."

"Mm," Severus echoed cramming the rest of the bun in his mouth.

Licking the crumbs off their face and fingers, Rowan says, "So, what do you want to do today?"

"Let's go out and play in the fields," Severus excitedly said in hopes that Lily would be there.

Rowan shrugs and says, "Sounds fine by me," as she wiped her hands clean on her ragged jeans.

The two of them quickly head out to play, but not before Severus shouts to Eileen. "Mum, we're heading out to play!" There is no response from her, but that came as no surprise. Eileen more often than not tended to ignore her children.

Rowan and Severus close the door after them as they head out onto the street. They passed down a road filled with rows of dilapidated brick houses that stand side by side. The windows of the brick houses are dull and dusty from the outside. Despite the ugly streets of this faded old industrial area, the twins still found joy in playing in the fields with drying grass, weeds, and dead blackened trees.

Rowan to her shock rather enjoyed her time playing tag with Severus. She didn't mind, perchance, because she was a child again. She laughed and played and at that moment she did not have a care in the world. She was simply a child playing with her brother.