The Era of Aria Snape

62

Chapter Sixty-Two

"SEVERUS, YOU DIRTY git!" Aria recalled Sirius yelling and then turning to Lupin.

She remembered how Lupin had changed her hair color from black to ginger in his class-she had assumed it meant nothing at the time (and was still unsure as to whether it had or not) but Lupin was always suspicious to her. It wouldn't come as a shock to know that every little interaction from him had been delicately planned.

Aria tapped the tips of her fingers as she used them to count the number of times that Lupin had questioned her about her mother and then how Sirius asked about her just before the Werewolf incident. It was all suspicious considering the short amount of time she had known them, especially Sirius who had bigger problems to contend with but still wondered about her mother.

Maybe they were shocked that her father had had a child. Maybe they assumed that Snape wasn't the fatherly sort.

Or maybe they knew something about Aria's mother.

Aria rose from her bed and rested on her elbows, staring curiously at the photo of her father and her across the room. She had been younger then and the smile that was plastered across her father's face looked genuine.

She wished that she owned at least a photo of her mother, one little inkling as to what she may look like. Aria knew she had her eyes, but what else did she possess? Had her mother gone to Hogwarts, had she been in Slytherin too?

Aria sighed and turned to stare out of her bedroom window and watched the rain dance around and hit the ground, drops racing down the glass.

She wondered how George was-she stopped.

Not that she had been expecting it, but George hadn't even written to her, he clearly had stopped caring completely.

The pain that Aria felt in her chest at that thought was incredible, even after all this time the mere thought of him still put her on edge, meanwhile, he was probably preoccupied with some other girl, probably Katie.

With that thought in mind, she stood up from her bed, straightened out her clothing, and wandered into the living room.

"Hello, dad." He was sitting in his favorite armchair, reading a book as usual without even the slightest of movements to indicate that he was still alive.

"Hello, Aria." He closed the book gently and looked up at her. "Going somewhere?"

"Just to Malfoy's." She said, gesturing to the fireplace, "I figured that I'd use Floo Powder."

"In your nicest shirt?" He shook his head and stood up. "Let me take you."

She nodded in appreciation at his oddly kind request and reached for his arm, apparating into Malfoy Manor.

"Snape?" Draco's blond head showed from over the backrest of the leather sofa as he turned to see the visitors and rolled his eyes, turning back. "Not such a pleasant surprise." He mumbled and stood up to greet them.

"Oh, shut up," Aria snapped. "Thank you father, I'll use Floo Powder to get back home later."

"Cover up your shirt before leaving at least." He frowned, "Oh, and don't stay past dinner." With that, he disappeared.

Aria ambled towards the coffee table and took the last apple, biting into it, her face scrunching as the bitterness coated her tongue.

"I was going to eat that!" Draco snapped and ripped it from her hand.

She grimaced at him and collapsed onto the couch, moving her hair out of her face.

Malfoy took the seat next to her. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Can't I miss you?" She teased.

He snorted. "You were here last week."

"I want to find out who my mother is," Aria said.

"Again?" He yawned. "I thought that was like two, three years ago?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're very funny." She remembered that she had failed to find her in the past. "I want to find out this year."

"All right." The blond mumbled, fiddling with his jacket.

"You're going to help me."

He groaned. "What do you want me to do?"

"Whatever I say."

He sighed and lay down. "Fine, but I don't appreciate you using me as a rebound."

"You're not a rebound." She said and looked into his eyes. "If you were, we'd be snogging right now."

She smirked as a pink tint darted across his pale face, his pupils growing slightly as he ever so subtly shifted closer to her.

She laughed, "Want to give it a go?"

"Really?"

"No!"

He rolled his eyes and resumed his previous position, flexing his jaw in irritation. "I'll help you, but not for free."

"You want money?"

"No, something else."

"Malfoy, I'm not going to-"

"Not that, Snape, but something. I don't know what yet."

"Deal," She didn't mind doing something for him in return for his help, "But only if you help me find my mom."

He nodded.

"Excellent." She stood up and began to head to the grounds. "I'm going to get some fresh air. I'll see you tomorrow at the Quidditch game."

"Don't be late. We'll leave without you."

"Yeah, yeah." She snorted, her words drowned out as she walked further away from him.

Aria only hoped that she wouldn't see George the next day, she was dreading it.