Snape's Daughter

Chapter Twenty-Two : The Bell

Her father had allowed her to stay the night in his quarters, in the exact room she last stayed in. Stacks of paperwork upon paperwork where piled inside the once empty crib, and the wardrobe seemed no different. It had appeared to Ellia that her father had been busy with work whilst she was gone. The bed, still unmade from where Ellia surprisingly slept beforehand, has proven too small for her now. In fact, near on everything was too small for Ellia now. Yet she wouldn't complain. The soft spring of the bed comforted her bruised back more than the previous beds she'd slept in.

It was 2am. The clock that was sitting beside Ellia was ticking away. For some reason, she couldn't sleep. Continuously she tossed and turned in the bed, her eyes not shutting. Pulling herself up, Ellia sat up, her ears looking out for any noise. Nothing. Everything was dead silent except for the tiny wisps of snores coming from her father's room. Tanking the duvet off of herself, Ellia dragged herself out of the bed, before tugging on her new Hogwarts robe. Collecting the wand that was lying on the bedside cabinet, she carefully stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Her father had obviously been up late last night, he had a scroll of paper secured in his hand and was fast asleep at his desk. Grabbing a fleecy blanket, Ellia threw it over her father's back, to keep him warm. Then, she carefully snuck out of the quarters, once again shutting the door. She skimmed the area around her, checking that nobody was patrolling. But it would be unlikely for even Filch to be up at this time. The flames still burnt, lighting up the way out of the dungeons. Her heals dragging along the stone floor, Ellia reached the cold staircases leading upstairs to the ground floor. Wrapping her robe tighter around her, she clasped onto one of the torches, disconnecting it from its holder. It would've been easier to use her wand, but the torchlight seemed more efficient. Lifting her foot up, Ellia stepped up the stone staircases until she approached the Ground Floor. In her mind, she didn't know where abouts she was going to go. But for some reason, her legs led her up the moving staircases and past the sleeping portraits, until the Fat Lady was in sight. Quickly replacing the torch, and leaving the new one in her hands, Ellia finished her journey to the Fat Lady.

"Password," she summoned, looking down at Ellia.

"I don't know. Last time I was here I didn't need one," Ellia said, biting down on her lip. The Fat Lady simply nodded.

"I remember. Young Ellia Snape. How you've grown up since then," she told Ellia, scanning the teenage girl.

"I wish to enter the common room, if that is acceptable with you?" Ellia politely asked the Fat Lady.

"As you wish," The portrait swung open revealing a door. Opening the door, Ellia stepped into the Gryffindor common room, still clutching on to the torch. The familiar sight of the red banners and McGonagall's portrait greeted her like an old friend. Throwing the torch into the fireplace, Ellia rested down on the couch, admiring the small burning flames in front of her.

"If you're looking for Fred and George," A sudden female voice started, "Then they're not here. They left last year." Suddenly sitting up, Ellia turned her head to see a quite beautiful girl stood before her. Her black hair tied back in a ponytail, the girls brown eyes darted towards Ellia. Wrapped around her was a dressing gown, and she looked as if even though she had eternal beauty, the black bags still glued to eyes like she hadn't slept in forever.

"I know," Ellia replied, "My best friend told me."

"Katie Bell," Katie said, holding out her hand.

"Ellia.."

"Snape. I know," Katie said, shaking Ellia's hand. Retrieving her hand, Katie slouched down on the couch next to Ellia, tucking her legs into her chest. "In fact, I think everybody does."

"Yeah. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes it's bad thing," Ellia sighed, lowering her head.

"Ehh it's fine. If it makes you feel better, I won't judge you for being Snape's daughter," Katie said. Looking up, Ellia noticed a faint smile wiped across her toned skin.

"Thanks, it means a lot," Ellia said, returning the smile.

"So how come you're coming into the Gryffindor common room so late, any boys involved?" Katie asked, giggling.

"No, no. I think my father would kill them if there was any. He only just justify a Draco," Ellia laughed.

"Draco?" Katie asked, "As in that blonde fit in Slytherin?"

"Yeah aha. We were childhood friends," Ellia joked. That's if he still wasn't angry at her for being in Gryffindor. Last time, he didn't speak to her because of it.

"Mind you, he's quite attractive," Katie chuckled.

"If you want to call him that," Ellia joked.

"So, where were you actually?" Katie asked her.

"At my father's quarters. I was meant to stay there for the night but for some reason I decided not to,"

"Oh," Katie said, "I wouldn't want to either."

"He's not that bad,"

"Really?"

"Okay, he's just a bit anti Weasleys," Ellia joked.

"That sounds about right," Katie said, "He gave them hell when you were gone."

"He would," Ellia started, "He's just a bit overprotective." Slowly getting up off the couch, Katie walked over to a nearby desk.

"I better be doing some homework for Slughorn," Katie sighed.

"Is he a good Professor?" Ellia curiously asked her.

"Yeah, just a bit enthusiastic," Katie sighed. Lying back, Ellia tucked her body into a ball, collecting as much heat as possible from the burning fireplace. The heat circled around her and almost hugged her like a fluffy blanket. She could here Katie scribbling away with a quill. Yet Ellia managed to block the ever scratching sound of the quill against the paper, and the droplets of ink on the paper. All that mattered was Ellia was finally at home.