The Era of Aria Snape

85

Chapter Eighty-Five

"I EXPECT BETTER of you, Aria. How much longer do you think you can continue like this without being expelled?" The walls of her father's office seemed to be closing in on her as he reprimanded Aria for what she had done.

"It's my last year, father." She said. "So not much longer."

He shook his head in disapproval. "Detention, until..." he seemed to think about it. "No, detention won't help anything. Why did you attack Miss Spencer?"

Aria sighed and slouched down in her seat. "She said she wanted Harry dead."

Snape raised his eyebrows.

"I know you don't like Harry, but he's my brother and I just got... I got so furious when she started spewing her usual rubbish like that! She deserved what I did to her, more even."

"You're lucky I walked in when I did, Dumbledore might have had to get involved if the girl ended up in the hospital wing, again. You can't continue to put people in the hospital wing and get away with it."

"They deserve it!"

"Hurt them in some other way then. No daughter of mine is going to have the reputation of a murderer. She could have been killed, Aria."

She snorted. "Rubbish. I would have caught her before she hit the ground." That was a lie. Aria had fully intended to let Matilda fall to her death.

He shook his head. "Never again. Next time there will be consequences." He spoke in finality and turned to some paperwork.

"There's something that I wanted to talk to you about," Aria said before she lost the chance.

"Yes?"

She thought about how to phrase it for a second. After all, discussions involving Death Eaters and Voldemort himself asking her to join him didn't happen every day. She needed to phrase this carefully.

"In the graveyard..." she began, realizing that she had barely spoken to her father about that evening. "The Dark Lord was there and he asked me to join him."

Snape listened carefully, his face betraying no emotion.

"He said I'm very talented. I considered it, you know. Then I chose not to and went to help Harry."

"That was a foolish thing to do."

"I'm alive, aren't I? However, as I'm sure you know, the Order asked... more specifically, Lupin asked me to join them."

Snape's face twisted at the mention of the old professor.

"Lucius told me if I wanted a better chance at survival I had to join the Dark Lord. He said my life depends on it."

"You shouldn't take everything Lucius says to heart, like Draco, he exaggerates greatly. I'm glad you came to me with this, Aria."

"I knew that you would know what to do."

Snape nodded and stood up, beginning to pace around his office. "I'm afraid that there's not much you can do. If the Dark Lord has chosen you, it's best to oblige."

"But the Order! Joining him would be the same as killing everyone I love!"

Snape snorted. "Your life is worth more than all of their's combined, Aria."

She frowned at his words.

"I don't want you to dwell on this. What you are supposed to do will unfold in time. Until then, I urge you not to take action against anyone else. The more people you harm, the more the Dark Lord will want you and the more the Order will not. You have a disadvantage being my daughter, they won't trust you fully. You must overlook their distrust."

He rested his hands on either of Aria's shoulders and stared down at her. "I understand that you think Potter is now your concern, but I assure you that he is not. You need to look out for yourself first and foremost."

"I want to help."

He hugged her. "I can't lose you like I lost your mother. You need to stay safe and do what it takes to protect yourself, even if that means joining the Dark Lord."

A few tears trailed down Aria's cheeks as she squeezed her father tightly. It was nice to know that he cared.

However, he had not given her the answers that she had come for. She was even more confused than before.

He pulled away from the hug and smiled down at her with sad eyes, before reaching across his desk and pulling a key from the drawer. "For your new dorm room. It would be wise to not share a room with them anymore, or anyone else."

She nodded. "I understand."

"You should get to sleep then. Merlin knows what this year is going to bring."

"Goodnight, father."

"Goodnight, Aria. Stay safe. I love you, darling."

She smiled. "I love you too, dad!" Running into his arms one last time before heading back to the common room, where she found all her things already packed up and scattered carelessly along the staircase.

She sighed, waved her wand, taking herself and her possessions to her new room.

It was right opposite her old one and if she listened closely, Matilda's whimpers could still be heard.

She snorted and slammed her door shut.

It was going to be a long year.