The Half Blood Princess

Chapter 23 - Unexpected Visitor

"Mum?! What the hell are you doing here? How did you even know about my hideout?" Talia questioned her mother once she ignited the room and saw her mother perched on the windowsill. "Professor Snape wrote to me expressing some concerns he has about some recent behaviour and I came over as soon as I could" Cassandra hummed as she slid off of the windowsill to come closer to her daughter. "Remind me to kill him later" Talia grumbled as she rolled her eyes and crossing her arms. "That's not a way to speak about a Professor, Talia. You should know better" Cassandra chastised as she mimicked her daughter's movements. "I turn 17 in a few months, Mum. I don't need you babysitting me 24/7" Talia groaned as she made her way towards her strategically placed armchair. "Someone needs to babysit you if you're running around and joining You Know Who's ranks!" Cassandra yelled, slamming her fist against the windowsill. "Grandma knows! Grandma's even given us the instructions for becoming Animagi! Sure to begin with the whole idea was mine and mine alone but that's only been possible because of what I've learnt here." Talia yelled back as she abandoned the idea of relaxing in her armchair and decided to square up to her mother instead. "You're Grandmother knows?" Cassandra questioned, her expression softening as the realisation came over her. "Yeah, Mum. Grandma knows. She wasn't happy at first but I managed to convince her that it was something that we needed. It was her idea for Professor Snape to get me in and he is responsible for my safety during those meetings, although I can hold my own" Talia sighed as she flopped into the arm chair. "I didn't realise it was so organised." Cassandra commented, still slightly dazed. "Do you really think I would have done this if I didn't have a contingency plan? Wow, despite me being your eldest child you really have very little faith in me and my abilities" Talia huffed sarcastically, unamused by her mother's tone. "I guess you do have things handled here. I-. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come" Cassandra sighed as she made her way to the door. "No, you're right, you shouldn't have, especially unannounced but, Mum you have to learn to let go, I'm not going to be at home forever." Talia sighed as she followed her mother to the door. "Well, so long as you keep your grades up, I don't really care what you do." Cassandra hummed before apperating back to 12 Grimmauld Place.

After Cassandra disappeared and Talia regained her senses, she marched herself down to Professor Snape's classroom. "Professor, is there a chance you and I could talk?" Talia questioned as Professor Snape opened his office door. "Miss Black, shouldn't you be in your dorm room? Studying before dinner?" Professor Snape replied as he stepped back from the door allowing her to enter his classroom. "Would you mind shutting the door? I don't want all of Hogwarts hearing what I have to say" Talia grumbled as she made her way towards his desk. "Can I ask what this is pertaining to, Miss Black?" Professor Snape grumbled as he closed the door. "For starters, we're going to drop the formalities. Secondly, how the hell could you rat me out to my own mother?!" Talia hissed angry as hell with him. "I'm sorry, Lia. I thought that it would be better that she knew instead of hiding it from her" Severus pleaded with her, trying to get her to calm down. "For Merlin's sake, Severus! What if Professor Umbridge had intercepted the Owl?" Talia sighed as she thumped her fist on the top of his desk. "Lia, either you're going to break your hand or my desk." Severus sighed as he reached for her hands. "I just wish you and my mother would stop babying me. I'm 17 soon and I need you all to stop treating me like I'm 5" Talia grumbled as she pulled her hands away from him, knowing that if she held onto his hands, all of her anger would disappear and she would end up forgiving him. 

"I'm not trying to baby you, Lia, I'm trying to protect you. You are one of the brightest witches in your year, I would hate it if something happens to you especially if I could prevent it". Severus sighed, his hands dropping to his side. "Of course, you forget, he doesn't feel the same way about you as you do about him, for him it's about his reputation as a Professor" a voice chastised Talia in the back of her mind but she just shook her head to dislodge the doubts. "Would you feel more comfortable if you and I left from here together to attend meetings?" Talia questioned as she attempted to soften her demeanour. "I'd feel more comfortable if you weren't involved in this at all" Severus glowered, his irritation prominent. "I'm doing this to protect Draco, too. I know all about the unbreakable vow you took with Narcissa. I also know that the reason you did it is because he is your godson." "How do you-?" "I borrowed Harry's invisibility cloak" Talia waved off the question and the undoubted pending lecture. "Besides, we haven't got the time to be arguing about semantics, Severus. Your dark mark is starting to glow" Talia commented.